
THE STOEY 
or 

-f WYOMING VALLEY 



]5^ 



%U^ 





Class T±i:l_ 

Book_-_lj^— 
GopyrightN^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 







10i|umturi. sumthrli tu purplr basr, 

Au^ ahrru nf hrauru'i. mint xinlb. 
miuisr prrrlras riurr trlla tbr tiilr 

ISrii-uirit iu bayii nf nl^. 

(Tbrrmt (S. (0£.bnrur. 



THE STORY 

OF 

WYOMING VALLEY 

BY 
a R. SMITH 

Author of the Wyoming Valley in the 1 9th Century, 
Daniel North, Sec. 

ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR. 




Published by S. R. Smith, Kingston, Pa., 
1906. 



UBR^RY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Rfwelved 

FEB 6 >90o 

n CopyrisM Entry ^ 

I 3 ^ ^ Ci 

COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT 

BY S. R. SMITH, 

KINGSTON, PA, 

190S. 



IROLD L FERNSLEfl 

pniNTERS, 
1..KES-BARRE. PA. 



L ' H-^ ^^ 



®If^ #tora nf lianitttng Balbg. 




CHAPTER I. 

I HE HISTORY of Wyoming Valley epit- 
omized in this little story is one of the 
saddest and most dramatic ever acted. The 
place in which it was acted is an amphitheatre 
fashioned by the hand of the Almighty. The 

arena is a plain, the walls are the blue hills and in the 

place of silken canopies, the fathomless sky. 

Any stranger looking down on this plain from the 
mountain would feel that in the past men fought with 
the wild proprietor and with each other to make this 
secluded portion of the earth their own. We are busy 
with the fleeting phantom called life, and so fully ab- 
'sorbed that the eartii beneath and the' sky above has 
faded as completely as the dreams of our vanished youth. 
These fields and encircling hills are beautiful, and the 
short history of the white man since he first came here 
is more than an idle tale told to occupy an idle hour. 

Men and women often have lacked bread for them- 
selves and their children, often shivered with cold and 
trembled with fear ; hardly a home during all the years 
of struggle but furnished an Indian with a scalp, hardly 
a mother who was free from the expectation that sooner 
or later the torch and tomahawk would come and leave 



4 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

only smoking embers and mutilated forms. Thus was a 
courage born and a manhood developed so splendid as 
to demand our attention and admiration. The faith of 
our fathers makes for us a fadeless page from which we 
learn how to live, for behind the deeds of daring with 
all the parts of the drama acted, we see plainly something 
better than the deeds. 

A dissolute king brought disaster to honest people by 
giving the land on which we live to two classes of his 
subjects. Before any one secured a good title years of 
blood-shed had to pass. The rival claimants fought as 
only men will fight when they are fighting for property 
to which they have a legal right. Then the Indian, with 
the title that possession gives, spilt blood freely and there 
is no apology' due from him. England was not slow to 
maintain order in this part of her domain, and there is 
no apology due from her for doing so. Everybody was 
right and all of them were wrong. They fought it out 
and the Yankee conquered the entire combination. When 
the struggle was ended this valley was his and his heirs'. 
The state was obliged to give him a valid title to the 
land and no one has owned an acre of the soil without 
purchasing it from him. 

This continent was divided up among the nations of 
Europe. The Yankee owned only a strip ; he enlarged it 
until it covered what is now the United States. The en- 
tire nation is Yankeeized. Lands across the Atlantic are 
catching the American spirit, the far east is trying to be- 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valle\). 5 

come inculcated. The great army of strangers from many 
lands do not materially change anything in our ways of 
life. The principles on which our national life rests are 
eternal as the hills ; the shore alone on which the tide 
plays is marked by wreck and debris. The fittist survive, 
the rest die. There is a reason why the Yankee survived ; 
he alone championed human rights and had the strength 
to establish them. 

Puritan and Yankee are synonymous and when we 
say New England settler we mean usually the same man. 
The Puritan means to us a very religious man, one big- 
oted in the extreme. The truth is he was better than 
religious, he was better than a church-man simply. All 
the man was expressed in the principle of religious and 
civil liberty — he would not wear a 3^oke. It was a blessed 
day for humanity when a man was born with courage 
sufficient to protest and fight against every form of bond- 
age that had oppressed mankind in all the years of the 
past. His was the first voice that had spoken with real 
emphasis for freedom. Thank God he made it prevail. 

Probably it was necessary and expedient that the church 
and state should be despotic until humanity were able 
to think and act without a master. There came a time 
when men needed a new dispensation, when they had man- 
hood sufficient to demand that no man put a bit in their 
mouth. The desire for freedom, the strongest desire of 
man, would assert itself. It did, and every throne since 
has been insecure. 



6 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The men named Puritan protested, not against the 
reHgion of the established church and the Roman Cath- 
oHc Church ; they protested against the first because it 
was a rehgious monarchy, and the second because it was 
a rehgious despotism. They protested against the state 
because they were through with every form of bondage. 
It was time that men should shout, "Give me liberty or 
give me death." Every noble soul the world over re- 
sponded. 

Courage and blood were the coin that purchased the 
pearl so desirable. England was smeared with blood, roy- 
alty was trodden under foot, Cromwell fought and Mil- 
ton wrote. 

Neither England nor the Puritans discovered America. 
Spain alone had a claim to the continent. A claim is not 
enough in this world, it is necessary that the claim be 
defended, and a stronger power than Spain was needed 
to resist the long arm and the grasping hand of England. 
It may be true that only English men could have suc- 
cessfully unpinned the English yoke. 

We call our fathers rebels, bigots and heretics. Read 
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 
the United States to be convinced that they were splendid 
infidels. Every paragraph is a cutting loose from creeds 
of all kinds and of oppression of every kind. These doc- 
uments declare for freedom for the whole people. The 
men who formed and established this government were 
not sectarians. Thomas Jefferson, James Hamilton, George 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 7 

Washington, Thomas Paine — in fact nearly all of them like 
Lincoln trusted in God and their own power without con- 
sulting any creed or asking the sanction of any denomi- 
nation. Emerson was a deeply pious man. In his attitude 
towards the teaching and the authority of the church he 
was a typical Puritan. It is easy reading to spell out the 
reason why this government endures and resists ; why it 
gathers under its protection men of all nationalities and 
religious beliefs. 

The colonists from England that settled in the south 
were not Puritans. They were English aristocrats, they 
established an aristocracy. We learned when they tried 
to dissever this nation that they were not patriots. No 
wonder that England aided them and rejoiced in the pros- 
pect that the Yankee was to be conquered and stripped 
of his power. The fool and the knave at home and abroad 
have learned the folly of striking and attacking the guard- 
ians of our rights and contending against the principles 
this government embodies. 

There never lived a man more interesting or more 
worthy of our admiration than the Puritan. Every inhab- 
itant of this valley, be he Catholic or Protestant, is in- 
debted to him for civil and religious liberty and to^ some 
extent for the prosperity he enjoys. Any one who reads 
the history of this valley will marvel at and admire the 
perseverance of the saints and recognize the hand of God 
in our history. 

The thread of red that is woven in our history is 
blended in the background giving a sinister effect to the 



8 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

picture as well as an unmistakable attractiveness that awak- 
ens within us a feeling akin to admiration. The Indian 
worshiped the moon and threw tobacco in the fire for in- 
cense. We are a little shocked at the way he was treated 
and perfectly satisfied with the result. 

The Moravian missionaries were the first white men 
to come here. The settlers that came after them were not 
missionaries to the Indians in any sense. They built more 
distilleries than churches, they gave the savage the bottle 
and not the Bible. 

To a limited extent we are interested in the Indian. 
The fragrant memories of childhood that linger in the 
recesses of our minds have a wild charm due to the tales 
told us of the spectacular red man by the royal enter- 
tainers of our youth. We can recall the Indian as we then 
beheld him in our vision. We were told how wild and 
wicked he was but we thought differently and the opin- 
ion of those days still dominates us. Consequently when 
we read how black he was we persist in leaving him red 
with the addition of war paint and his picturesque en- 
vironment. We are not complimentary and rarely just 
when we discuss a heathen. The Indian probably rated 
the white man more astutely than lie was rated, at least, it 
is evident, that the red man knew on which side to stand 
during the war between the English and the French and 
later how to stand by the enemy of the settlers. He sold 
the land when he could no longer hold it and for most of 
it received as much as it was worth at that time. The 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 9 

leaders could hold their own in council with all the talent 
and culture arrayed against them. They fully realized 
the size of the white man's foot and the strength of his 
arm. 

The Indian problem is about disposed of. Civiliza- 
tion had no mission for him, or designed to have, that 
would benefit him. It is not proven by any means that he 
could not have made a consistent Christian and a reputable 
citizen. The Five Nations or the Six Nations as they be- 
came later on, carried the science of government to a 
point that awakens our admiration. This federation of 
nations was as unique and complete in its way as any we 
have read of in the history of the world. Their form of 
government was despotic with supreme power centered 
in a council made up of representatives of the tribes that 
formed the confederation. Tioga Point, near what is now 
Athens, was the headquarters of the Indians in this sec- 
tion. Here all the renegades, as well as the Tories of the 
region adjoining, congregated. Here they built towns and 
planned their raids upon the whites. Here Queen Esther 
had her village and from this point came the force that 
effectually effaced the Yankee from the valley for a time. 

A large number of the families of this locality removed 
to different points between here and the state line and in 
many ways our history reaches out to the Chemung River 
and beyond, as well as down the river to Sunbury where 
Fort Augusta was erected and served both as a prison and 
a defence. 



lo '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The Indians of the valley were mostly Delawares, com- 
pletely under the rule of the Six Nations. Tliere were 
not many Indians in the valley after the settlers came 
and it was mainly after the massacre that they were a 
real menace to the people. Without warning they would 
sweep in and massacre a family, probably take one or 
more of the children with them and vanish, not often oc- 
cupying more than a few minutes to complete their work. 
It was rarely that a pursuit proved successful. In the 
state there were over three hundred children returned 
from captivity after peace was declared. Some wished 
to remain with the captors. A sad feature of their re- 
turn was that in many cases no relatives could be found to 
claim them. Orphans and widows were seeking protec- 
tion and help in every direction. Notwithstanding the 
impoverished condition of the people most of the time and 
the constant plundering and destruction of crops, the help- 
less found bread and shelter, even to the sharing of the 
last meal. And yet these people would come back every 
time they were driven out and hold on to their beautiful 
domain with the patience of death. These strenuous times 
make our strenuous lives appear only child's play, and' our 
poverty plenty and to spare. 





'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. ii 

CHAPTER II. 

|UR VALLEY, as we behold it, is beautiful 
and picturesque ; as the first band of settlers 
beheld it, it was wild and sublime. Few 
of us have looked over a valley like ours 
covered with primeval forest. The picture 
staggers the most powerful imagination. Of the life 
the Indians lived where we have found a place of abode 
and the splendor and beauty of their haunts under the 
deep shade of the yellow pine, the maple, oak and button- 
wood, we have no conception. 

The fame of this inviting spot had spread all over the 
colonies and was being taken across the sea by every vessel. 
The New Englander wanted to turn his back upon the 
stony soil and the chilling winds that swept over the hills 
from the sea, and make himself a home between these 
blue hills where God had performed His master stroke, 
where the soil was waiting to bring forth abundantly 
and nature was lavish with her gifts. 

At Hartford, Connecticut, The Susquehanna Company 
was formed in the year 1754. They purchased land along 
the Susquehanna of the Six Nations for two thousand 
pounds. The territory is described as being over one hundred 
and twenty miles in length and sixty in breadth. They had 
a charter granted by King George the Second, dated April 
23, 1662, granting them that portion of his domain ly- 
ing between the 41st and 42nd degrees of latitude and ex- 
tending across what they supposed was a narrow continent. 



12 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The proprietors of Pennsylvania had also a charter for 
the same territory g'ranted by the same sovereign, given 
to William Penn in 1681. These claimants prepared to 
resist the claims of the Yankee, a thing which they did for 
over forty years. 

We now come to the original shove ; all the rest will fol- 
low. In the Nutmeg State a number of families were ready 
to stake life and fortune on a bold venture. The body of men 
forming what is known as the Susquehanna Company 
wisely commissioned some they thought competent to go 
and view the promised land. These agents viewed the 
land and tried to conciliate the Indians in advance to 
the invasion of their choice hunting ground. These men 
returned and reported favorably. In the interval before the 
little company reached the valley the state claimants, hav- 
ing learned what was taking place, hastened to send troops 
to the valley assume military occupation. 

The story of the first attempt to settle the valley by 
the people from Connecticut is a fitting prelude to what 
took place afterwards. These adventurers doubtlessly 
shouted with joy as they beheld this garden in the wilderness 
for the first time and considered themselves fortune's favor- 
ites. They were not favorites, — quite the reverse. They 
were to be the first victims of the host that afterwards 
would suffer and die in securing a permanent home on these 
lowlands between these hills. 

It was not necessary for them to clear land, for on the 
flats on the east side they found soil ready for the plow. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 13 

They built log- houses, and planted crops. Their friends 
in the east heard only glowing reports from them until 
a message came that the entire settlement had been wiped 
out by the Indians, some of the settlers having escaped to 
tell their friends of the sad tragedy. 

The experiences of some of the men who escaped 
massacre would please a lover of stories of adventures. 
One man crawled into a hollow log to hide from the In- 
dians that were following him. An Indian came and sat 
on the log. Finally he looked in the end and seeing a 
cobweb stretched across the opening he was certain that his 
intended victim was not there. This cobweb story has 
a flavor of age about it ; that nevertheless does not make 
it impossible for history to repeat itself. 

The people in the east considered they had a valid ti- 
tle to the land that a king had deeded to them and orna- 
mented with his great seal. They were eager to migrate to 
the beautiful valley on the Susquehanna of which they had 
heard so many glowing accounts. They proposed to come 
prepared to defend themselves and make a permanent set- 
tlement. 

The war between the French and English had just 
closed, the French having ceded the northern portion of 
the continent to the English. Tlie Indians, now that they 
were not helping foreigners to fight each other, began 
fierce warfare against the whites. The West Branch was 
settled and the Indians plundered, burned and murdered 
without mercy along this tributary of our river as well 
as in other sections of the states. 



14 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle\). 

The English and Germans had settled along the Del- 
aware and were the other owners of the coveted territory. 
When they learned of the preparations going on in the 
east to attempt settlement here a second time they leased 
this valley to three men, Ogden, Stewart, and Jennings, 
for seven years, divided it into two manors, and military oc- 
cupation was declared. 

The Susquehanna Company divided this section into five 
townships, five miles square, and then subdivided a portion 
of it into forty shares as a free will offering to the forty 
pioneers. Two hundred pounds were given them to pur- 
chase farm implements with which to cultivate the land. 
The forty came here in February, 1769, and two hundred 
followed the next spring. 

To round out our story we will consider the state of 
affairs in the colonies. The second settlement of the val- 
ley was six years before Paul Revere took his famous ride 
and the first shot of the Revolution was fired. One of the 
worst sovereigns of modern times, sat on the English throne, 
and parliament which twelve years before, had begun to 
impose taxation without representation, proposed, when 
the war between France and England closed in 1762, to pay 
the enormous war debt by imposing additional tax upon the 
colonies. The Declaration of Independence that Patrick- 
Henry had voiced was stirring men's hearts. As they had 
never seen a king, were dissenters in religion and republicans 
in politics, for six generations had governed themselves, 
bad been shown by the French and Indian war that they 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. iS 

could defend themselves, when the Stamp Act of 1765 was 
passed the flaming fire of independence blazed fierce. 
Added to this was the inherited character of the colonist 
and we might add the knowledge that when the French 
king signed the treaty with England after the war and 
ceded Canada to their conquerors, it was to make it possi- 
ble for the creation of a republic in the west that would 
trample the standard of St. George in the dust. The im- 
perative necessity to secure subsistence as well as the En- 
glishman's desire for property and the innate desire, com- 
mon to all men for liberty, prompted the breaking away 
from the monarchial government under which for gener- 
ations their ancestors had lived where the monarch seldom 
regarded the rights and the welfare of his subjects with any- 
thing less than contempt. All these things combined, 
prompted the strong men of the colonies to come to this 
valley, and they at first established a democracy as untram- 
meled by outside authority as that enjoyed by the American 
savage. These men had iron in their souls and muscles 
of steel ; they had not outgrown the superstition of the 
past. They believed in witches as their progenitors had 
believed the world to be flat. It is no slander to say they 
were chiefly concerned and occupied in looking after their 
own interests and that they enjoyed strife. Before they 
left New England they drew up laws to govern them and 
made the town meeting the center of authority. 

When they reached the valley Ogden, Stewart and Jen- 
nings, the lessees, occupied the land under military protec- 
tion of the state. They had erected forts and block-houses 
and were trying to make settlements in the valley. They 



l6 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle\). 

lived mostly in the forts they had erected and compelled 
the New Englanders to fight constantly to protect them- 
selves. 

The five townships allotted to the settlers were surveyed, 
and Kingston township, the first that was occupied was 
allotted to the favored forty. Mbst of the lowlands were 
free from trees and covered with rank grass. The soil was 
very rich, consequently large crops could be raised with 
little labor. With the river full of shad, in their season, and 
other fish in great abundance wild meat always within reach, 
they were secure from want. The winter having passed 
they were ready to put in their crops. 

They built Fort Durkee near Fish Eddy, the fort at 
■Mill Creek, built by the first settlers, being too remote, as 
they were cultivating the flats below the present site of 
Wilkes-Barre. By May they numbered 280 able-bodied 
men. The eyes of the new-comers were opened to the 
beauty and wealth of their possessions. 

The state authorities sent a force to the valley, but 
after they had beheld the means of defence and the number 
of the enemy they were sent to wage war against, they 
returned to Easton. There was a small force in the Penna- 
mite forts, and the three Pennsylvania proprietors, Ogden, 
Stewart and Jennings were absent, Jennings was a civil 
magistrate. The governor sent a company from Philadel- 
phia to drive the Yankees out. This company encamped 
at Fort Durkee, but not daring to make an assault they 
removed to a safe place and awaited reinforcements. This 




iBffnrr tltf Wi}\U Mm\ ramp. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valle}). 17 

was in June. In September, the prince of trouble makers, 
Ogden, with Sheriff Jennings, came with three hundred 
men. They arrested the leader of the settlers, Captain 
Durkee, and took him in irons to Philadelphia. With so 
large a force against them, their leader a captive, and the 
terrifying boom of a small cannon ringing in their ears, the 
besieged men surrendered. All were ordered out of the 
country except the seventeen men to look after the crops, 
these were ordered out later. With their dream shattered 
and their prospects blighted the bold pioneers turned their 
faces to the east. Then the brave and bold Lazarus Stew- 
art appeared on the scene. He captured that awful cannon. 
The victorious Ogden retired to Fort Ogden only to sur- 
render and defeat. The farmers burned the fort and con- 
fiscated all the enemey's property to make good the loss they 
had sustained when they were driven out. 

The men who had left the valley against their will came 
back full of fight. They were in possession and before their 
blood had come to cool off, the governor, a great grandson 
of the splendid American and friend and favorite of royalty, 
William Penn, but who lacked all the glorious perogatives 
of his great grandfather, called upon General Gage, com- 
mander of the Continental troops, to drive the awful Yankees 
back to the Nutmeg State. The General promptly replied 
that it would be highly improper for the King's troops to 
interfere in a matter of property between the people. 

Peace reigned again, a prosperous summer followed, 
the Forty Fort was builded. Then Ogden came back by an 



1 8 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

unguarded route, seized the men in the field unarmed at 
their work. This was in September. Ogden captured fort 
Durkee and its defenders, sent Captain Zebulon Butler and 
Spalding, with other leaders, to Philadelphia as prisoners. 
The men were taken to Easton. 

The Pennamites supposed they were through with the 
Yankee. Consequently they left only a handful of soldiers 
to defend the forts. Lazarus Stewart was on the war trail. 
In December he swept down on the forts and the garrison 
fled, most of them protected only by the one garment they 
had on when Stewart's men disturbed their dreams. 

In 1770, Ogden came in the dead of winter with one 
hundred men. He built a fort sixty rods from Fort Durkee 
and called it Wyoming. Then he demanded the surrender 
of tlie enemy. In the attack on Fort Durkee, Ogden's 
brother was killed, and Ogden retired. Stewart knowing 
hoiw highly he was prized bv the state authorities retired 
in the night to the mountain, leaving a few men in the fort. 
These Ogden sent to Easton as prisoners, after which he 
strengthened his position and wondered doubtless where 
that awful Stewart was. A child never feared the dark 
or a culprit the lash as Stewart was feared, and the state 
authorities at this time doubled the reward they had offered 
for his arrest. They would wipe the settlers nearly out of 
existence and then this brave and bold cavalier would ap- 
T^ear with the Paxton boys, and Ogden and his followers 
would scatter. 

The next time the curtain rises on the stage we see Capt. 
Zebulon Butler, whom we supposed a prisoner of war in 



'^i^e Story of Wyoming Valley. 19 

Philadelphia, and Lazarus Stewart with one hundred and fifty 
men cooping Ogden up in Fort Wyoming on the river 
bank. Butler and Stewart built a fort a short distance 
below Fort Wyoming. To-day two granite blocks, properly 
inscribed, rest on the river bank to point out where they 
were. Then some fortifications were erected across the 
river and something of the kind on the Redout where the 
new court house stands. That terrible cannon was mounted 
upon this elevation and probably made the shad in the 
river jump out of their bed. Ogden wanted help and he 
wanted it very bad, so he performed an act that is the only 
clever thing recorded in his career. He rolled up his clothes, 
placed his hat on them, tied a cord to the bundle, and with 
this he floated down stream a short distance keeping his nose 
out of the water and hanging on to the end of the string. 
As he passed the sentinels they riddled his hat with bul- 
lets. Thus he escaped, going on foot to Philadelphia. Later 
on he is back again with reinforcement. These Butler am- 
bushes. Ogden goes back over his tracks, and the men are 
allowed to find refuge in the fort of their friends to help 
eat up the food of the besieged who are soon obliged to 
capitulate. 

Thus ends the first Pennamite war which lasted three 
years and brings us now to September, 1771. 




20 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

CHAPTER III. 

E HAVE come to the days that are the 
most beautiful in our history when peace and 
prosperity were enjoyed. The men built 
homes and removed their families from the 
east. Every man was the dictator of his own 
acts and had no master except his own will. A Utopian con- 
dition of human existence was realized that was better 
than Plato's dream. Block houses were erected on both 
sides of the river, and territory surveyed and assigned to 
the settlers. People began to flock here from every direc- 
tion. They were so well occupied that they had no time to 
think of a regular form of government, settled their dis- 
putes by a town committee. They had order without law 
or a constable. There was, strange to say, religious toler- 
ance more than we find among them at an earlier day. 
Ferries were erected, mills and distilleries built and roads 
made. As soon as the people had provided for their main- 
tenance they brought teachers and preachers here and pro- 
vided for the support of the churches and the school. By 
1773, by the increase of the population and conflicting inter- 
ests it became necessary to have a form of government. To 
meet this need the Susquehanna Company adopted a code of 
laws and means to enforce them. 

At this time the Connecticut people tried to open nego- 
tiations with the Pennsylvania claimants to settle the dis- 
pute over the territory. These offers were spurned. 

It 1774 all the territory from the Delaware to fifteen 
miles beyond the Susquehanna was erected in a town, called 



'TThe Story of Wyoming Valley. 21 

Westmoreland, and attached to Litchfield county. This was 
seventy miles square and was divided into townships, then 
into lots that were sold or assigned to the settlers by draw- 
ing lots. The governor of the state forbade the settlers 
settling on the land and claimed the territory. The popula- 
tion at this time was about 3,000. The people met and 
elected officers, their government being under the protection 
of the colonists, while they waited the pleasure of the 
crown.. Their form of government was an independent 
democracy. Up to this time every man was a soldier, paid 
or unpaid, and worked with a gun swung over his back. 

Let us imagine a walk through the valley on a pleasant 
day at the time of which we are writing. The people we 
would meet would be variously clad, in keeping with a 
period emerging from the most primitive state. Yet some 
things would not be so strange to us. We would see the doe- 
skin dandy and the home-spun dude, the artful maiden 
anxious to make an impression, and the lady of fashion as 
artificial proportionately as we have to-day. The typical 
hunter's dress would be seen and evidences of military life 
and customs. 

The whipping post and the stocks would be there while 
the one-story log cabin would be the most conspicuous order 
of architecture to be seen. We would perceive that young 
Matthias Hollenback had opened a store, the first and prob- 
ably the only merchant. The name of nearly all the 
persons you meet would be familiar notwithstanding the fact 
that they lived over four generations ago. There will be no 
streets worthy of the name and no side-walks. From any 



22 '^ke Story of Wyoming Valley. 

part of the town you could look north, south and east right 
into the wildest woods you ever saw and see the river by 
looking towards the flats. The most interesting objects seen 
will be the forts. We will go down to what is now the river 
common, between South and Ross streets, where we will 
find a fort tlie most interesting in the valley, and as we 
have just read of some events that transpired there we are 
aware that it is Fort Durkee. It was built of hewn logs, 
is about half-acre in extent and is surrounded by ramparts 
and intrenchments. Near it we find some twenty houses 
with loop-holes. Later on it became the headquarters for 
General Sullivan, when he came here after the Revolution 
to drive out the Indians. We will take a look at Fort 
Wyoming, a little more than a rifle-shot away, built by Og- 
den to aid him in fighting the Yankee. We will go up to 
Mill Creek where the people have built a mill to grind their 
grain. Here we will find a fort named after the creek. 
Within we will see huts that the settlers lived in most of 
the time during the three bloody years just passed. 
At the Redout we will find a fortification mounted with the 
famous cannon that Ogden frightened the inhabitants with 
a few years before. These forts are interesting yet we 
remember they never were atacked by the Indians or were 
the scene of much bloodshed. Forty Fort interests us more 
for it is larger, incloses an acre of ground, and is made of 
two thicknesses of logs twelve feet above ground, with a 
watch-tower at each corner. Inside we find barracks and 
huts built along the wall so that the soldiers could stand 
on the roofs to fire at the enemy. We go down through a 
sunken passage to the edge of the river where there is a 



*C7ie Story of Wyoming Valley. 23 

spring. By going up to what is now Sturmersville we see 
Wintermute fort. We do not find friends for they are 
mostly Tories. We go to the Jenkin's fort, nearly a mile 
above on the river bank. By ferrying across the river 
we look at Fort Pittston, composed of thirty-five log houses, 
built in a triangle and connected at the upper story. From 
this fort the people who had gathered there during the in- 
vasion of the Indians, British and Tories, witnessed the 
battle and the awful scene in the evening when Queen 
Esther wrote her name blood red in history. This fort sur- 
rendered the day after and, as at the other forts, the Indians 
appropriated everything they wanted. The Indians smeared 
black paint on their prisoners' faces to protect them from 
harm. We will go back down the valley. We can follow 
an Indian trail or take a canoe. 

We want to see the public buildings of Wilkes-Barre. 
We find the jail and all the municipal buildings in a fort 
standing on what is now Public Square. This fort is called 
Wilkes-Barre. Here once stood an Indian village called 
Wyoming. There is a block-house that is situated down 
towards Nanticoke. When we say it is Lazarus Stewart's 
property and is near his home it is certain that any one who 
loves a hero would walk the distance to visit this land buc- 
caneer. If we had the making of monuments, and the erect- 
ing of memorials, this favorite of ours would have one 
worthy of the man and the deeds he performed. He fell 
in the battle of Wyoming. His compatriots, Zebulon Butler 
and Colonel Durkee, the hard fighter, proved impervious 
to bullets and the hemp noose designed for them by their 



24 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

enemies, and died peacefully in their beds long after the 
war dogs and the wolves had ceased to howl in the valley. 
On our way down we will see where the cabin stood that 
the Pennamites built for the notable Delaware chief Tede- 
uscung. This friend of the white people awakened the jeal- 
ousy of the Six Nations, who sent a party here to put him 
out of the way, an end they accomplished by burning him in 
his cabin in the night. Some claim that he was sleeping off 
the effects of liquor which the visitors had given him while 
his guests, and pretending to be his friends. 

There are many old families living here and there in 
this end of the valley. It is apparent that the population of 
the country is being provided for as most families have from 
ten to fifteen children and often more. At this time the log 
school house and the teacher that boards around has not 
become one of the institutions of the valley to any extent. 
It was not expensive to raise a family. As bears and deer 
would come poking about within rifle range from the cabin 
door to investigate their neighbors it was easy to keep a 
barrel of wild meat on hand and fresh meat on their table 
all the year round. There were no game laws and the men 
were good marksmen. Down in this neighborhood that 
terror of the Indians, the famous Inman family lived. We 
wonder what became of the old rifle that old Inman talleyed 
by a notch every Indian he shot. 

We go down to the gorge in the mountain where the river 
leaves the valley. Here the Nanticokes reared their teppe 
while up the river on the other side the Shamokins had a 
village. It was to these Indians that Count Zinzendorf 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 25 

preached. This missionary is associated in our minds with 
the legend, or snake story in which history pictures him 
reading his Bible in his tent by a fire. Two red faces and the 
gleam of a knife are seen in the opening in the tent. The 
Indians observe a snake, evidently thawed out by the fire, 
crawling over the count's garment as it made its way out. 
The story may be only a story yet it reveals the danger this 
saint was exposed to in his work. The Indians thought the 
preacher was one clothed with divine power, he having a 
poisonous reptile for his companion. The superstition of 
these would-be murderers served a better purpose than usual, 
as the proposed tragedy did not take place. 

We follow along a well-worn Indian trail over which 
the Senecas, Cayugas and Oneidas as well as other tribes 
have traveled, for the great Indian' highway between the 
north and south was through this valley. There is no doubt 
that Cornplanter, Red Jacket, Brant (the Mohawk chief, 
who was a British ofiicer in epulets and an educated man), 
and other noted chiefs passed this way. Away back in 1739 
Conrad Weiser, the noted interpreter who spread the fame 
of the valley far and wide, doubtless traveled this road. 

Here in this end of the valley in 1775 occurred a conflict 
that gives us considerable satisfaction, although it was de- 
signed to disturb the peace and prosperity that reigned. 
Colonel Plunket came up the river with a force of seven 
hundred men. Butler and Stewart went to Nanticoke to 
receive him. Stewart took the west side and Butler the east, 
where he erected breast works. The defending force num- 
bered only two hundred and fifty men. Butler, out of the 



26 *Tr/?e Story of Wyoming Valley. 

kindness of his heart, fired a blank volley. Then Plunket 
went over to Stewart's side of the river. Stewart, with 
charasteric unkindness to a foe, fired bullets. The balls 
came so rapid and straight that Plunket changed his mind, 
and decided that Northumberland was a safer place than 
Nanticoke. 

Wherever we go it is evident the people are on the verge 
of war with the mother country. When the Declaration of 
Independence was declared in 1776, the whole section was 
as wildly aflame as any part of the country. 

It is interesting to come on a cabin in the woods for the 
family as well as the dogs give you a boisterous welcome. 
Public opinion was not shaped by the press and a newspaper 
like we read would have created more of a sensation than a 
visit from the king. The tongue was mighter than the 
pen, and every traveler was expected to stop, tell the family 
the news from the outside world, be treated to all the 
whiskey he wanted and depart with the knowledge that he 
had called upon those who were very glad to see him. A 
family would have felt humiliated to the last degree if they 
were caught without liquor in the house. These people 
loved to talk, they loved to gossip as well as we do. They 
would get together and tell more interesting things than we 
read in the paper. Every man bragged about himself and 
blowed about the villainy of the despised foe. The aw- 
ful stories the women would tell about witches, spooks, 
warnings and the omens of their dreams were believed. The 
children would listen to them as eagerly as to the words of 



■^i^e Story of Wyoming Valley. 27 

the Bible. They would jump at any unusual sound and .s^ape 
in wonder. The young men did not know how to tie a four- 
in-hand, yet it must be born in mind they knew how to court 
a girl and marry her without delay. 

The men wearing a queue and knee breeches causes us 
to realize how differently we dress as well as that our style 
of apparel can not compare with theirs in picturesqueness. 
The moccasin did not have high heels, neither did it warn 
the wild animals of the approach of the hunter, nor was it 
liable to produce corns. We may as well envy as pity the 
pioneer. They had great times, the food they ate as we con- 
sider their bill of fare, makes us wish we could make them 
a visit. They had plenty of the best meat a man ever ate. 
Corn cake, which is not bad eating, roast beans, and the great 
fruit of our forefathers, the pumpkin, wild grapes and wild 
berries as well as cider and nuts. Of course we prefer 
steam heat yet the great open fire place where the family 
and neighborly neighbors, told better stories than we hear 
and as true, blazed hospitably. They were the heroes of all 
the yarns they spun. The men still wore their hair long. 
It was not until Burgoyne, with his last ship load of British 
soldiers left Philadelphia for home, that the queue went the 
way of other things that were discarded at this time. They 
had the real Yankee drawl, their talk sounding as queer as 
their writing reads. Their food and their fun we can com- 
prehend, but how they could set at table with a few pewter 
platters and iron knives and forks, get along without wooden 
floors and nothing better than stools and benches to sit on, 
is more than we can understand. These people were mostly 



28 ^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

aristocrats with the best manners and breeding. The old 
men could bow to a lady elaborately, and the wives and 
daughters could courtsey to perfection. The attempt to 
imitate the manners of royalty was evident in all their social 
life. Their loud hearty laughter made it apparent that 
nature was the teacher that guided tliem to a very great ex- 
tent. It should be born in mind how, in their birth and 
breeding, as well as in contact with life, that they were not 
common or inferior — quite the reverse. No men had better 
blood in their veins or more creditible history. They were 
the flower of New England and the full bloom of the great- 
est people in the world. It is safe to say they were not pro- 
vincial to any extent or so cut off from the world as to confine 
their interest and outlook to their surroundings. 

As we travel around among them, even in our imagina- 
tion it is not easy to forget how soon these happy homes are 
to be only a memory, the people murdered, their habitations 
destroyed, and themselves driven back east stripped of every- 
thing, even of the necessities of life. 

We say "Milly me," thankful our fate is more fortu- 
nate. We do not forget how many men of character and 
brains, and lovely women have hated, fought, suffered, loved 
and died between these mountains. How many admirable 
traits these transplanted and transformed Puritans pos- 
sessed. We are proud of our history as well as of our pro- 
genitors. Now we will devote our attention to the most 
dramatic part of the history of Wyoming Valley. 



^Ae Story of Wyoming Valley. 29 

CHAPTER IV. 



A 




^ NEW NATION is about to be born, a new 
flag is to spread out its beautiful folds over the 
freest nation in the history of the world ; one 
to become the greatest. England is preparing 
for war and the colonies have raised the cry, 
"Liberty or death." The people are divided, many deter- 
mined to be loyal to the crown and to cast their fortune with 
the strongest force. The Indian, to strike his dangerous 
enemy who was crowding him out of his old haunts, was 
ready to spill blood and apply the torch if he was paid and 
protected. The people in the valley were ready to do their 
share of fighting against the three powerful opponents to be 
pitted against them. 

The claim of an exercise of arbitrary government by 
Great Britian was the principal cause of the revolution, 
for since 1748, when England began to enforce her claim 
the revolution had been brewing. France had constantly 
excited a spirit of resistance in the colonies. These men 
had not forgotten the circumstances under which their an- 
cesters had left their homes. The growth of the spirit of 
independence had led them to believe that complete separ- 
ation from England was desirable and possible. The thick- 
headed and narrow George the Third, who sat on the throne 
for sixty years, and his bigoted and incompetent ministers, 
widened the breach that finally became so wide that nothing 
could hold the two countries together. After the Stamp 
Act was passed in 1765, the Sons of Liberty was organized. 



30 ^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The colonist refused to purchase EngHsh g;oods. The Bos- 
ton massacre took place, and in 1773 the Boston tea party 
was held. In 1774 the second colonial congress met in Phil- 
adelphia and the result was that General Gage was sent 
across the sea with a fleet and ten thousand soldiers, Paul 
Revere and his famous ride and the War of the Revolution 
was on. George Washington was appointed commander-in- 
chief of the Federal troops, numbering fourteen thousand 
five hundred volunteers. On July the fourth, at two o'clock 
in the afternoon, 1776, the Declaration of Independence 
was adopted, the King's Arms was torn down and burned 
in the streets of Philadelphia. 

The dark war cloud threw its shadow across these hills 
and over this plain. It reached even to the most solitary 
home, causing the most intense excitement and awakening 
the spirit of patriotism in every heart. Men gathered to- 
gether to discuss the news and to pick up every scrap of 
information from the coast. There were few men in the val- 
ley who were inexperienced in the trade of war or wished 
to be away from the scene of conflict. After the first blow 
was struck it was necessary that the war must be fought to 
the end. Trouble rarely comes alone. At this time it ap- 
pears as if all hades was let loose upon this isolated spot 
unprotected by outside selp. Consequently the Connecti- 
cut authorities acted a contemptible part. The old enemy 
over the southern mountain sent Plunket with an army that 
outnumbered the able-bodied men in the valley, and the 
savages at Tioga Point became a menace. It is evident 
that every man was needed at home, as there was trouble, 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 31 

and serious trouble looming' up in every direction. That 
reptile of the revolution, the Tory, was spawned — the worst 
and last pestilence to be contended with. 

It is understood the Tories were settlers who came here 
from New York, mostly settling- at the upper end of the 
valley, probably compelled to, do so. It is supposed that they 
persuaded John Butler to come here and strike the settle- 
ment. 

The ofifence that Connecticut committed against the peo- 
ple was to forbid emigration here at the time of the great- 
est need. 

At this time, 1776, orders were given to form the 24th 
regiment of Connecticut militia in Westmoreland. During 
this year, the people invited the Indians to come here and 
hold a council. Captain John spoke for the Indians and 
Butler for the whites. The Indians proposed that they 
come here and live with their white brother in peace. That 
the savages wanted to put themselves in position to murder 
the inhabitants was understood. 

It became absolutely necessary that the people have 
protection, and Congress stationed two companies here. 
These companies were raised here, and were stationed one 
on the west and the other on the east side of the river. 
Among those who enlisted a squad of men was Matthias 
Hollenback. Before the year was out Howe had driven 
Washington out of New York into New Jersey. Washing- 
ton was obliged to send for the Westmorland companies, 



32 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle}^. 

presumably for only a short time. The people strengthened 
their forts and sent scouts up the river to watch the In- 
dians, under the charge of Lieut. John Jenkins, a surveyor 
and the moderator of the great town meeting held previous 
to this. He was captured by the Indians. The story of 
his release by an Indian he contracted a friendship with 
is interesting. During this period the people on the east 
and west side contended to see if the public buildings for 
the county should be located in Kingston or Wilkes-Barre. 
The people on the east side won. 

Vagabond Indians came prowling through the valley, the 
squaws begging. These were supposed to be spies. A 
man was shot up the river. All indications pointed to an 
invasion from the north. The women petitioned and prayed 
for the return of their natural protectors all in vain, for 
the Continental army was in awful straits. These were 
the darkest days and the most trying days in our history. 
No one could see anything ahead except a final catastrophe, 
when the wave beaten raft on which the seekers after liberty 
were clinging would be torn apart, leaving the victims to the 
mercy of what they feared as much as death itself. From 
this distance it is evident how securely they were riding a 
treacherous tide to the realization of more than the sur- 
mounting of the difficulties that confronted them. Faith in 
God was the rock on which the Puritan and his descend- 
ants stood. This enduring faith was where the arm of 
flesh raised against them failed and proved ineffectual. 

The battle and massacre of Wyoming stands out in our 
nation's history as one of the most important and unique 




all]p iBattlr m\h Massarrp nf UuimiiuQ. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valle}^. 33 

events on record. The reason it has (gained so much fame 
and Ulster is principally because the Yankee was astute 
enough to make it advertise to the world the awful results 
that came from the employment of savages to murder and 
burn white people and practice their terrible methods of 
warfare. The opportunity was not unimproved. It could 
not have been used better by the expert advertisers of the 
present. No similar attempt has met with such success. 
All through the history of this country the press has served 
the contestants as effectually as the armies in the field, and 
often more so. If we had the accounts that were written 
by these slick Yankees, and first published in Poughkeepsie, 
and read them, we might fully comprehend how clever the 
writers were. The awful story of our wrongs were read 
all over the civilized world with pity and horror. The En- 
glish people hung their heads in shame. Parliament refused 
to appropriate money to continue the war. This fact places 
the little fight up above Wyoming as one of the most im- 
portant events of the War of the Revolution. 

The Indian struck the individual and his battle-field was 
the settlers' cabin. He was not a soldier, and that is why 
his name is held as a synonym of all that is hateful to civi- 
lized man. The crimes he committed here were no worse 
than what he was guilty of all over the colonies. The 
story that made such a sensation had an appropriate back- 
ground that made the picture complete. 

Looking over the names of the officers who commanded 
the men at Wyoming we conclude they did not lack exper- 
ience or ability. In fact the force was well officered. 



34 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Zebulon Butler and Lazarus Stewart were experienced 
men. They had fought in the war that had just closed and 
Butler was here on furlow from the storm center of the 
war that was being' waged for independence. Durkee and 
Ransom, who reached the valley just in time to go into the 
fight had also come here from the seat of war. Lieut. Col. 
George Dorrance, Colonel Denison, and Major Garret, were 
able officers. It must not be inferred that all the able-bodied 
men were ofif to war. Nearly every one of the old families 
of the valley was represented by one or more members. 
By looking over tbe list of the men that were slain or that 
escaped, this fact becomes apparent. 

When it became known that Col. John Butler was up 
near the state line preparing to make a descent upon the 
settlers, companies were formed and the raw recruits drilled. 
Every preparation was made and the people warned to 
flee to the forts for protection. The enemy came down the 
river to Bowman's Creek, then across the mountain to Fort 
Wintermute. Here were the Jenkins, Harding, and Gard- 
ner families. On June 30th the Harding massacre occurred. 
Eight, men not aware of the presence of the enemy, had 
gone to Exeter to work on their land. The Indians found 
and attacked them. Wallace, Gardner and Car were taken 
prisoners, two of the Hardings were killed and two of the 
Hadsells. John Harding, a boy, hid in the water under the 
bushes and escaped. Word of this tragedy came to the 
valley on the first of July. Colonel Butler sent Lieut. Col. 
Dorance and Colonel Denison with their companies up to 
Exeter. They found two Indians on guard, whom they 



'Vhe Story of Wyoming Valley. 35 

shot. Colonel Butler buried the men at Fort Jenkins, which 
is now West Pittston. After Colonel Butler had returned to 
Forty Fort the invaders took possession of Fort Winter- 
mute. At this fort we have the record of one man, David 
Ingersoll, who tried, unassisted, to fight the foe. The Tories 
captured and bound him. In the evening- John Butler sent 
a force up to fort Jenkins to capture it. There were seven- 
teen old men to defend it. After four were killed and three 
captured the rest surrendered. 

On the morning of the second, John Butler sent his 
prisoner, Gardner, with an escort to Forty Fort, to demand 
that the fort and camp be surrendered. These demands 
were refused. Friday, the third, the day of the fight, 
Gardner with another white man and an Indian were again 
sent. The settlers suspected the Indian and the white man 
who escorted Gardner came to ascertain the strength of 
.the fortification and the number of the defenders. 

It is the blood-red letter day of our history. The fa- 
mous cannon is booming at Fort Wilkes-Barre to warn the 
settlers of the impending storm. There was a strange sight 
witnessed that morning and the previous. Little and big 
groups were hurrying from their homes hidden in the nooks 
and corners, with bundles of provision and little else, to the 
forts. Some probably brought a cow to supply the chil- 
dren with milk, with now and then a horse to bear the 
aged and sick. We refuse to let our thoughts dwell on the 
scenes that occurred as each family left all they possessed. 
The unwritten history of the past was enacted, and we care 
not to reproduce it. All the families did not come, many 



36 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

of them lived in the lower end and off alon^ the foot of the 
mountains. After the surrender of the fort, these families 
went down the river in boats. Some of them may have re- 
mained, or taken to the woods. At all the places of defence 
a few old men and boys remained. Captain Blanchard was 
at the fort at Pittston with a small company. Spauldin^ who 
was cominis;' with help from the seat of war was forty miles 
away. 

We wish we had a good picture of the council that 
Colonel Butler held, the mornino- of the third, with his 
officers. By invitation he had assumed command. There 
were several army officers at this council and in the fight 
that served as privates. Bii;tler and Stewart appear to 
have had the most authority. Butler counciled staying in 
the fort and Stewart vigorously insisted going to meet the 
enemy. Denison and Dorrance advised waiting, hoping 
Spaulding would come. Stewart had the majority with 
him, while the most level-headed were with Butler ; but the 
latter, against "his better judgment consented to lead the 
men out. As we can not tell what the outcome would have 
been if they had remained in the fort, we cannot pass judg- 
ment on the decision. 

There were six irregular companies in the fort. These 
were from Hanover, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre and Kings- 
ton, mostly raw recruits. There were 230 men enrolled, 
the rest being civil magistrates, old men, boys, and other 
volunteers. This force marched out to engage the enemy 
five miles away, late in the afternoon. Half an hour after 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 37 

they departed, Captains Diirkee and Pierce came riding up 
to the fort, having left Spaulding in the swamp, when they 
learned that the men were on their way to meet the enemy. 
They hurried to join them and were killed. 

As the little army approached Wyoming they saw the 
flames ascending from Fort Wintermute. Colonel But- 
ler sent four of his officers ahead to select a spot and mark 
off the ground on which to form the order of battle. The 
spot selected was on the upper flat, the steep bank on the 
right and the swamp on the left. We infer that the place 
was more or less open. The beautiful afternoon sunshine 
flooded the place, the repose of a summer's day making the 
scene as peaceful and sweet as a child's sleep. The men 
were formed in battle lines, the companies of Gore and 
Hewitt on the right. Colonel Butler, Colonel Bidlack and 
Major Garret supported this wing. Colonel Denison, sup- 
ported by Lieut, Col. George Dorrance, commanded the 
left wing with Captain Whittsley on the extreme left. But- 
ler made a brief address. He said : "Men, yonder is the 
enemy. The fate of the Hardings tell us what we may ex- 
pect if we are defeated. We came out to fight, not only for 
liberty, but for life itself, and what is dearer, to preserve 
our homes from conflagration and our women and children 
from the tomahawk. Stand firm the first shock and the In- 
dians will give way. Every man to his duty." Colonel 
Butler ordered his columns to display. They marched up to 
the right. The left of the enemy's forces rested on Fort 
Wintermute, which w'as in flames. 

Col. Zebulon Butler ordered his men to fire and then 
take a step ahead. Then the inspiring and blood-stirring 



38 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley^. 

report of guns rang- out all along- the line. Blood began to 
flow and the cold hand of death began to claim its victims. 
A continuous stream of lead was poured into the columns of 
men before them. They could not face the fire and began to 
fall back. Behind the steep bank on the right, between 
the upper and lower flats, a party of Indians were pouring 
into our exposed men a destructive fire. The indians on the 
left began firing. The fight grew fierce, the indians started 
their fearful yell which was answered by the Indians on the 
other side. This appeared to be a signal for a rush. The 
fight had continued for a half-hour. From out of the swamp 
the Indians came with a yell. On they came like fiends, 
rushed into the left wing of their foes and cut them ofif. 
Every soldier knew that the battle had ended and a hand to 
hand struggle for life was before them. An attempt of 
Denison to turn the left wing to face the red men in the 
rear completely failed. The primitive, one-man fight, 
was on. Colonel B'utler recklessly rushed up and down in 
front of his men urging them to stand firm. It was useless. 
The officers on the right knew the day was lost, as they 
could see the Indians sixty rods in their rear and the awful 
havoc they were creating. The drummers were ordered to 
strike up and the officers refused to give the order to re- 
treat. Soon every captain had fallen. The rear of the 
army broke away, the Indians after them. As they could not 
g:o down the valley they moved towards the river, fighting 
and falling as they went. The main body followed them. 
The fight continued as they retreated and was fierce and 
bloody in the extreme. Many escaped toward Monockasy 
Island. The flight across the lower flats made that place 



'Vhe Story of Wyoming Valley. 39 

the scene of an aopalling- horror. Nearly two hundred men 
fled down the valley. The rank .^rass was stained with 
blood axid many fell and were scalped. The men that 
reached the river plunged in, some of them to be shot from 
the shore. 

This part of our history is not clear. We learn that 
Colonel Butler and seventeen men escaped to the mountains, 
that fourteen men were taken prisoners by the Indians to 
be the victims of the bloody O'ueen in the evening. Where 
were the rest? The next day we find Colonel Denison 
surrendering the fort to John Butler. Then we have all the 
rest left to our disposal. Just what hapened the main force 
after they began the retreat we can only imagine, as they 
were behind the Indians, they could escape. We are told 
they fled instead of wiselv surrendering to the Canadians. 
Out of 300, some authorities say, only 165 were found to 
be killed or missing. We have the impression in reading the 
account of the flight across the lower flats to the river that 
the whole force was flying with the Indians after them 
and striking the most of them down. This was not so. 
We also read that with the one hundred women and children 
fleeing over the mountain there was only a few old men. 
During all the journey through the swamp, there is no indi- 
cation that any of the nearly two hundred men who had 
escaoed had joined them. Where were they? 

The upper and lower flats are strewn with dead, and dead 
bodies are floating down the river in sight of the people on 
the bank. 



40 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Men hid under the bushes in the water; some swam 
down the river with bullets striking around them, others 
crawled under rocks and in hollow logs, some ran as long 
as their legs would carry them. They went across the moun- 
tains, down the valley, anywhere to escape. They 
were desperately frightened, as well they might be, for 
all who did not speedily put themselves out of reach of 
the Indians' spears, tomahawks, and scalping knives, were 
murdered without mercy. The individual tragedies on the 
river and island were as fearful as those on the plain, while 
those taken prisoners had to face and suffer a fiendish death. 

The picture we have of the scene at Wyoming in the 
evening epitomizes the manner in which the Indian gratified 
his revenge and hatred of the white man. It may be exag- 
gerated, but it is quite probable that it fails to convey to our 
mind an adequate conception of what occurred. The numer- 
ous assaults that were made upon the scattered homes of 
the valley and in other sections, were as fearful and similar 
only on a smaller scale. We refuse to turn this picture with 
its face to the wall. It is indelibly engraven on the minds 
of the civilized world and will remain. 

The Indians planned to celebrate the victory they had 
won. Not a victory for the British, but for themselves. 
They had more scores to settle than their white friends. 
They always celebrated their victories with a dance, when 
they tormented and tortured their victims. This was a 
natural way, all humanity having the same instinct and a 
proclivity to do it in the same manner. 



^Ae Story of Wyoming Valley. 41 

A fire was built on the level plain. The prisoners were 
brou.8:ht within the center, where they could witness the de- 
light and feel the hatred of their tormentors. They knew 
how to get up a dramatic scene of the most fearful and spec- 
tacular character. The one at Wyoming was complete in 
every particular. The Indian was dressed for the occasion. 
The scalps were gloated over. They struck up their awful 
music and performed their grotesque dance. They shouted, 
whooped and grinned, the scene becoming a wild carnival 
that filled the hearts of the savages with delight. They knew 
that on the morrow they could turn themselves loose and 
plunder and burn without restraint. They come to the val- 
ley for revenge and plunder, and their day had come. They 
were wild men and this was their reward. Let us pass over 
the fate of the victims that sufifered and were left mutilated 
and lifeless when the orgie was over. Queen Esther had 
presided and the death maul had done its work. The men 
who escaped at that time give us a good description that 
leaves little for the imagination. 

The man that was held in abhorance and designated by 
the settlers a Tory, was sipping the honey of revenge. No 
words can describe how he was hated, and history does not 
give us a record of what he sufifered or of the wrongs he 
endured. This valley was not a paradise for him. He was 
an enemy, an enemy that had no place to live unmolested 
unless he left this region. He was often helped to leave, 
and the hands that helped him are liable to handle him 
roughly. It is said that seventy of them were in the center 
of Capt. John Butler's line of battle. There is every reason 



42 



"^i^e Story of Wyoming Valle}). 



to believe that those who had gone to Canada instigated 
the invasion and that those at Tioga joined the company and 
came back to see and help annihilate their enemy. They 
thought after the fight pleasant thoughts and planned to re- 
turn, with interest, all that the settlers had coming to them. 
Everybody at the upper end of the valley were overjoyed 
except the men hiding in the forest. 





^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 43 

CHAPTER V. 

jHEN THE SHADES of evening fell the old 
repose rested over the plain. The longest day 
will pass and become only a memory. There 
could be no repose for the people at the fort. 
The Indians do not leave their victims to 
suffer or to survive to drag out a miserable existence. 
The men stretched out on the flats were sleeping secure 
from the ills of life. At the fort there was no rest. In the 
evening Capt. John Franklin arrived with a company of 
thirty men from Salem and Huntington. Men had escaped 
from the fight with fearful tidings of the conflict. These 
had eager listeners to their tale of woe. The women must 
be protected, they proposed to defend themselves. This con- 
clusion was as impracticable as their plan to bring the cannon 
from Wilkes-Barre. It might have made a noise, but as 
they had no ball for it, it could not serve any other purpose. 

Every woman was wondering if her husband, son, 
brother or father was alive or dead. No one could know 
whether they had occasion to weep or rejoice. After all 
they had passed through, this night must have dragged its 
length intermainably long, as they bitterly thought of the 
morrow. Evil news has swift wings, for when the morning 
began to cast a glow in the east men who had come in and 
reported that the people who were not in the fort were 
getting ' ut of the valley as fast as possible, down the river 
and acr. s the mountain. The next thing before them was 
to wait r John Butler and put up with what followed. 



44 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

John Butler and Colonel Denison met that morning in 
the Myers homestead, near the fort, and agreed upon the 
terms of surrender. Life and property were to be respected 
and the Tories were to be allowed to return and peacebly 
occupy their land. John Butler was a portly, good-natured 
man about forty-five. He admitted that he could not re- 
strain the Indians from burning and plundering. The In- 
dians began at once to show their independence of author- 
ity by helping themselves to everything they wanted and 
even commanding Colonel Denison to part with some of his 
belongings, which they coveted. Nearly every home became 
a torch. We will refer to an account, written in 1828, by 
Col. John Franklin, and published in the Towanda Repub- 
lican. 

This writer informs us that all the able-bodied men were 
not at Valley Forge with Washington, and that all the 
women and children went over the mountain through the 
shades of death. The awful pall that we find enshrouding 
all the other accounts is missing, for we feel the presence of 
live, vigorous men. Our histories are so melancholy that 
when we read them an old ghost moons about in our imag- 
ination like a lost soul in nowhere land. Colonel Franklin's 
account of the reasons why the men met the enemy makes it 
evident that it was feared that the invaders would burn the 
homes and drive off the stock and leave the valley without 
any opposition. The version he gives of the Queen Esther 
episode is irreconcilable with the standard story. He says 
a body of men, numbering fifteen or twenty, had rushed 
into the river after the fight. The Indians and Tories ap- 
peared on the bank and promised that if they would return 



*^/je Story of Wyoming Valley. 45 

they would not be harmed. They swam back. Tliey were 
placed in a circle with an Indian behind each man, then 
Queen Esther went around the circle with an Indian death 
maul and brained them all except one or two men, who 
broke away and escaped. He repeats the assertion that the 
opposing- force outnumbered our men more than two to one, 
that there were 700 Indians, 400 Canadian troops and 70 
Tories, yet it is more than likely that John Butler's official 
report was correct, in which he states that his force all told 
did not number over five hundred men. Colonel Franklin 
tells that a large number of the soldiers surrendered on the 
battle field and were afterwards inhumanly murdered. 
When he states that Col. John Butler did not stay long at 
Forty Fort, but crossed over the river with his men, went 
down to Wilkes-Barre, and in a few days left to draw the 
savages out of the valley, as they were burning up the homes 
in every direction, as well as driving off the cattle, it is 
evident he knew personally some facts in his statement. 

The well-worn road leading from the valley to Strouds- 
burg, a distance of seventy miles, at that time led through 
a dense forest and dangerous swamps, very appropriately 
called the "Shades of Death." This was the highway to 
the east. After the disaster at Abram's Plain, the women 
and children began their long and toilsome journey over this 
road for home. They may have all gone together or they 
may have gone in separate companies. In all the forts there 
were men and women with a guard of some kind. All may 
not have sought refuge or went far away at the time of the 
exodus. The large number of men that escaped from the 
field undoubtedly hunted up their families as soon as 
possible. 



46 '^i^e Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The picture we have of the fli^^ht is one that represents 
the Hmit of human suffering and fortitude. If the victims 
were not women and children we could appropriately call 
it hades. The hardships of frontier life had hardened them, 
otherwise they could not have accomplished the journey 
and endured the hardships. They had left all they had 
behind them, yet they were of that race that nothing daunts, 
that nothing can subdue. 

The old pewter dishes were buried by the people before 
they left their homes, and other objects of value. This in- 
dicates that they expected to return. When the exiles 
reached New England, most of them hired out until they 
could return. They were real aristocrats maintaining them- 
selves by their own exertion, and fighting their own battles. 
As the long procession winds its way through the gloomy 
forest, we like to think them cheerful, and that they sympa- 
thized with each other. They were neighbors and friends. 
These things went a long way and helped to keep their cour- 
age up. 

The environments and the circumstances are so unfamil- 
iar to us as to make it impossible for us to picture the 
pathetic incidents of the journey. A mother carrying her 
dead child for miles, births and deaths under the circum- 
stances, and the hardships of the forced march are things 
that appear to us only indistinct and blotted pictures. 

Spaulding and his men turned about when news reached 
them of the defeat of their neighbors, and Franklin returned 
to his home. The dead lay where they fell, wet by the dew, 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 47 

and fanned by the breeze, until September. The summer 
days went by without a thought of v;hat was taking place 
or of the bloody tragedy of the near past. John Butler went 
back north to wear the laurels he had won, the Tories to 
hug themselves for joy as they thought how secure they 
were in the advantage they had gained. Alas, they did not 
know the stony and thorny path they had traveled would 
be a flower-strewn way in comparison to the path before 
them. The Indian strutted before the admiring squaws 
as he exhibited the scalps he had taken and the goods he 
had brought back. He probably had not heard the name of 
Sullivan. He would hear and feel him in the future. Their 
beautiful villages would be wiped out. They would be 
hunted out of the country and in a few years take up their 
long journey towards the setting sun. The men who had 
fled in every direction on the fatal day were rounding them- 
selves up ; they were hunting up their families and planning 
to come back and come to stay. Those who stick, win. 

The crops are growing without their care-takers to cul- 
tivate or gather them ; the rabbit plays around the charred 
remains of the homes and the summer breezes carry the 
sweet odors across the man-deserted fields. 

We think about the poor frightened people out in the wil- 
derness — visions of the mother, gathering her brood about 
her in the lonely forest at night, trying to bind up their sore 
feet, quiet their fears and make them comfortable as they 
stretch out their tired bodies to sleep. How fearfully tired 
they must have been. It is a satisfaction to think of them 
out of reach of the enemy they held in unspeakable dread. 



4^ '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

It is quiet in the valley now. Here and there a stray animal 
is wandering- about unheeded, or a rooster crowing on a 
shed and wondering what is the matter. A strange land 
was this, the Indians gone, and the white man vanished. 
No wonder that a masterless hound howls in his lonliness 
with something akin to a human voice wailing in dispair. 

Never mind mother, never mind little one without 
enough to eat, you will come back over this road some sweet 
day. You, mother, will watch your children play about your 
house in the beautiful valley, for the Father of us all has 
you in the hollow of his hand and is working out human 
destiny for the highest ends. The bleaching bones will be 
gathered up and decently buried before the snow falls. In 
the future many will honor their memory and pity the 
sufiferers. The hidden lives you lead and your sad story will 
be told and a wreath of immortals will be woven for you. 

Evening has fallen over the fields. The evening star 
shines bright and beautiful over Ross Hill, the moon is ris- 
ing over the Pocono. Lovely night you hide from our sight 
the cruelty of man to man. 





(ipitpptt lEstltpr. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 



49 



CHAPTER VI. 

NUMBER OF the old settlers had experiences 
as interesting^ and as unusual as any we find 
in the novels that captivated us v^hen we 
reveled in tales of adventures and stories 
reeking- with blood. There are a great many 
such tales historically true in which members of old fami- 
lies were the actors. 




The incident known as Inman's nap has two or more 
versions. The most popular one is the following : "Richard 
Inman started with the Hanover company up the valley the 
day of the battle. At every house they stopped they im- 
bibed liquid refreshments. Inman filled a bottle so that 
he could have something between visits. The old man could 
not carry his load, so he lay down. The battle was fought 
and lost and men were getting out of harm's way. Lazarus 
Butler was urging his horse along when he came upon 
Rufus Bennet, who was pursued by an Indian. Bennet 
caught on to the tail of the Colonel's horse, and away they 
went. The fleet footed savage had nearly overtaken them 
when Bennet saw Inman sitting up, rubbing his eyes. 'Sboot 
that Indian !' Bennet cried. The old hunter swung his rifle 
to his shoulder without getting up and dropped the Indian 
as quick as he had often shot a deer on the run. 

Four of Richard Inman's brothers were in the battle ; 
two were killed. One swam the river in his flight, and being- 
overheated, died. Two much whiskey probably saved the 
life of Richard as well as that of Rufus Bennet. Another 



50 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

brother the next winter thought he heard the call of a wild 
turkey. He took his gun and went after it. The next spring 
his body was found scalped by the Indians that had deceived 
him. The Inmans became known as Indian killers and 
squared up with them with interest. One of the Inmans 
had notches in the stock of his rifle to tally the number he 
kihed. 

Roswell Franklin hated the Indians and was feared and 
hated by them. First they came and carried away his son 
and a nephew, after destroying his crops. A year later, 
when he was away, they came and carried away his wife 
and four children and went up the river with them. Frank- 
lin hurried up from Hanover to Wilkes-Barre, secured the 
assistance of eight men, and cut across the mountains and 
came to their route in advance of the party. They hid and 
waited. A fierce fight followed. The wife and the chil- 
dren lay flat on the ground and the fighting was done over 
their heads. Mrs. Franklin raised up and. was shot. Finally 
the children got up and ran to the rescuing party. Most of 
the Indians were killed. History speaks' of "Franklin's 
oath," for he swore vengeance upon his enemies then and 
there. 

Mrs. Zebulan Marcy started across the mountains with 
the refugees with a babe six weeks old in her arms, and a 
little child just able to walk, that she led. The infant died 
on the way. One account says she covered it with leaves 
and left it, and another account that she carried it many 
miles to the first settlement, near Stroudsburg, where the 
people did everything they could to provide for their com- 
fort. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 51 

It is interesting' to note the fact that a colored man by 
the name of Gerson Prince fell at the battle of Wyoming. 
He was born in slavery and had served as servant of an 
ofificer. We are not to forget that this section was at one 
time more intensely slave territory than Virginia. 

The story of Stephen Abbott is typical of very many 
others. He had nine small children. He went to the battle 
and escaped, taking his family down the river, as many of 
the men who escaped did. Later on he came back to see 
if he could secure any of his harvest. While getting his 
grain in, with the assistance of another man, they were 
ambushed and killed. 

]\Irs. Abbott went back east, traveling the nearly three 
hundred miles depending on the exhausted charity of the 
people along the way. When the children grew up they re- 
turned and claimed the patrimonial land at Mill Creek. The 
mother also lived to return. Many of the settlers secured 
more or less of their crops. 

Samuel Carey was captured after the battle by some In- 
dians under a chief known as Capt. Roland Monttire. He 
was taken to Fort Mintermute where a young Indian, who 
was mortally wounded, was dying. Young Carey was given 
an Indian name, painted and dressed as a savage, taken to 
the Indian country and adopted by the family. They tried to 
make the stranger take the place of their dead son, and found 
little consolation for their loss in that way. There was often 
a lack of food and much suffering from the cold. Two 



52 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

years later Carey returned home, as peace had been declared. 
The Indians carried many captives from here to Niagara, 
as they could find a market for them there. 

The story of Frances Slocum is unmatched in history in 
a few particulars. It might be called classic. This won- 
derful little story of a life throws a false glamor over the 
Indian and blinds us to the real misfortune of this white 
woman who became an Indian in every particular except in 
race. Her neatness and cleanliness, we claim, indicated her 
origin, yet the Indian is very neat in all that he fashions 
for personal adornment. We have a picture of the Indians, 
the morning after the battle, at Fort Wintermute, scraping 
the scalps they had taken and stretching then on hoops. 
Little Frances was taken the second of November, the mas- 
sacre having occurred in July. As there were only twenty- 
three houses in the town before the Indians burned all but 
three, the Slocums had but few neighbors. The people were 
coming back from every direction and depended upon the 
forts for shelter and protection. John Slocum's house, we 
gather, had stood the storm. As the Indians had considered 
him their friend, they had promised him protection. He 
was a member of the Society of Friends. When they learned 
that one of his sons was in the battle and was killed, and 
that he had taken in the family of a neighbor that fell in the 
fight, they regarded him as a traitor. A month after they 
had taken the daughter, they returned and killed him. Mr. 
Slocum was absent when the visitors came. On the porch 
they killed the boy that was staying there. Then they en- 
tered without knocking, for even a friendly Indian walks hi 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 53 

unannounced. They took into custody a young son who 
was lame, then they picked up the pretty little red-headed 
Frances and stalked out. They also took a little colored boy. 
We have the scene of the mother pleading for her child 
as the little one reaches back for her mother to take her. The 
curtain drops for sixty years. The father and mother are 
long since dead. The scrap in a paper sent by a trader is 
read by relatives in Wilkes-Barre, and they go out to In- 
diana. The Indian village they come to is not a cluster of 
teppes, the houses are log, and the Indians living quite like 
white people, and associating with them. Frances is an old 
squaw, her family married, one of her daughters the wife 
of a protestant preacher. Civilization had come her way too 
late. All they found dififerent than in any other squaw were 
the family features and a few recollections of her childhood. 
The old woman wisely said no to all their entreaties, saying 
"I am an old tree and cannot be transplanted." They 
brought an artist who painted her picture. She sits dressed 
Indian-fashion, and makes a very striking picture. It is 
certain there is no painting in the valley that is more inter- 
esting. We are told that she came to the station with her 
visitors, and while waiting for the train, rolled herself in her 
blanket, lay down on tbe platform and went to sleep. It 
is also told that the chief that stole her made a pet of her on 
the journey up the river, provided her with Indian play- 
things and decorated her as he would a favorite daughter. 
This is the story given by our various writers. 

The story of the capture of Frances Slocum, as told by 
Mrs. Bethia Jenkins, a friend and neighbor of Mrs. Slocum, 
is as follows, and contributed by Mrs. Mary Reichart of 



54 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Florida : "Frances and her mother were standing in a door- 
way, when an Indian came along with a little boy on his 
shoulder. The boy was Mrs. Slocum's son (Joseph, I be- 
lieve), and was lame. Mrs. Slocum pushed Frances behind 
the door, bidding her to stay there, and accosted the Indian, 
asking him to give her the boy, 'See, he is lame,' she said, 
'he will be of no use to you, give him to me.' Tliis pleading 
went on for some time, and in the meantime the mother, in 
her anxiety to rescue her son, quite forgot Frances, who, 
in childish curiosity, had come from behind the door and 
stood a little back from beside her mother, and so was un- 
perceived by her. After a time of parleying with the Indian, 
he suddenly set the boy down by his mother and in the same 
moment took Frances upon his shoulder and carried her 
away. Mrs. Slocum, in realizing this, would weepingly say, 
'If only the boy had been taken instead of Frances, how 
much better I could bear it.' Her thought was that a boy's 
fate in captivity would be less pitiable than that of a girl." 

The adventure of Benjamin Bidlack, another Kingston 
man, is the first touch of humor in the story of the valley, and 
this was serious humor. The Bidlacks have left a fine record 
behind them. To jumble up a foolish song we might say: 
"They could fight and they could pray, and were the bright- 
est and best men of their day." Ogden captured Benjamin 
and made him a prisoner in the fort at Sunbury. Benjamin 
like Paul and Silas, sang in prison. He sang so well that 
he was brought out to amuse the officers. They did not 
know Beiijamin or they would not have given him all the 
room he wanted to act his song of "The Swaggering Man." 



"^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 55 

The sing-er swaggered and sang until he had enlarged his 
circle sufficiently to bring him near the stockade that encir- 
cled the yard. Then he shouted, "Here goes the swaggering 
man." Over the fence he went, leaving a lot of silly looking 
officers to swear at each other for their stupidity. Very 
often old ladies in their white caps and old men around the 
open fire place have told these stories to the rising gener- 
ation. There is one other story that has all the elements in 
it that delights the imagination of youth and quickens the 
pulse of any who have warm blood in their veins. Philiy) 
Hunter went hunting with an Indian. He suspected that 
the Indian was planning to kill him. They agreed to meet 
at a certain time. Hunter returned to the tree before the 
time and hung his hat on a stick and put it so it would de- 
ceive the Indian. When the savage returned he saw what 
he supposed the head of his companion, and put a ball 
through the hat. Hunter stepped out and leveled his rifle 
at the would-be murderer's breast. The savage threw open 
his hunting jacket to indicate he was ready to have justice 
meted' out to him. 

The following incident is the finest of the lot to the mind 
of most boys. Several men and a boy were captured and 
were being taken away. The party encamped for the night, 
the men were securely bound, the boy was put under the 
blanket of a chief, and slept by his side unbound., An In- 
dian sat on a log to act as a guard while the rest slept. The 
boy could see out from under the blanket that the guard was 
fast asleep ; he could hear the rest of the party snoring. 
The chief's knife was next the boy. This he withdrew cau- 



56 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle\). 

tionsly and cut the cords of the man next to him. This man 
freed the rest of the prisoners. After they removed the 
guns from the sides of the Indians, they each stood over an 
Indian and all at the same time struck an Indian's skull. 
The Indians that were not killed jumped up, one was shot, 
the rest ran away. As they ran one of the men threw a 
tomahawk and buried it in the back of an Indian. Some 
years afterwards an Indian was seen at a gathering^ of the 
whites who had a lame back. He was asked how he hurt 
his shoulder, and replied that a white man struck him with 
a tomahawk. 

There are enough stories of adventures to make a large 
book. The men, women and children taken into captivity 
suffered cold, hunger, as well fatigue of long forced 
marches. Many of them were sold at Niagara, after suffer- 
ing the most cruel abuse at the hands of the Tories at that 
place. Some escaped, having a hard time to get back. Very 
often they died of exposure or were overtaken and killed. 

Artist Shuscell, former president of the Philadelphia 
Academy of Fine Arts, painted a picture that represents a 
scene not unusual. A young woman is bound to a tree, the 
young Indians are shooting arrows to see how close they can 
come to her without hitting her. A few old squaws are 
gathered about her, gloating over her sufferings, and the 
children stare at her with their dark eyes in which there is 
no pity. The old Indians sit around smoking and the war- 
riors stand watching their victim, pleased with the spectacle. 
The fire to burn her is already blazing. This burning at the 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valle}). 57 

stake was not a mode of torture learned from the whites, 
we believe it to be an old practice. There are methods of tor- 
ture the white man could have taught them more horrible. 
The Indian was an economist, for he endeavored to do as 
much harm as he could with the least exposure. Conse- 
quently he generally waited until the men were out of reach, 
then he could attack the women and children, knowing in 
this way he could bring the worst possible suffering to his 
enemy. There are some things, in their treatment of their 
captive women, that they were never guilty of, and the In- 
dian deserves credit for this. Old Chief Mintum com- 
plained, when he came to Fort Augusta with his children, 
that the white people debauched them. He was not the only 
Indian who had reason to complain. The Indian holds the 
marriage relation sacred, and is not as immoral as a bad 
white man. The whiskey the white man taught him to 
drink proved to be as fatal to him as the white man's rifle. 

On the road down the valley below our city there is a 
memorial to mark the spot where the two Jameson brothers 
and Ash Chapman were attacked by the Indians. They were 
going from their homes in Hanover township on horseback 
to Wilkes-Barre. Near the Hanover Green John Jameson 
was shot, being hit by three balls. Ash Chapman and his 
horse were both wounded. The horse turned and went 
home. Chapman died the next day. Benjamin Jameson's 
horse carried him out of danger. John Jameson had just 
married Abigal Alden, a descendent of the John Alden who 
tried to court Priscilla Mullin by proxy away back in the 
early days. There is a large oil painting in the Historical 



58 'Tjhe Story of Wyoming Valley. 

rooms representing- this scene. It was painted by George 
Porter, artist, preacher, and writer, a man of genius and one 
of the greatest in the history of this valley. 

Within the last few days a monument lias been erected 
to honor the memory of John Abbott and Isaac Williams 
at Parsons. William Penn Abbott, a decendant, became one 
of the ablest preachers of the country. We can consider 
him as one of the greatest men this valley has among those 
we are to hold in remembrance. 

All tbe forts and other spots where a tragedy took place 
on the great battle field that covers the entire valley have 
been marked by monuments erected by Daughters of the 
American Revolution. There are many old families who 
need to have some visible evidence placed in view to declare 
to the world the service they rendered in the past. A build- 
ing is a valuable memorial, yet the direct memorial should 
be placed. There is little doubt that in the course of time all 
those who deserve public and permanent recognition will re- 
ceive it. 

Tradition tells us that Toby's cave, named after an In- 
dian chief of that name, was the refuge of some men fleeing 
from the Indians. The cave entrance is so small that the 
defenders could brain any who dared to crawl in. 

Campbell's Ledge has a tradition tbat a horseman named 
Campbell rode ofif this high precipice to escape the Indians 
that were pursuing him. In late years much interest is be- 
ing manifested toward everything that pertains to the his- 
tory of this region. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 59 

Some have traced the road that General SulHvan cut 
through the forest. The historical rooms are the repository 
of many things of interest. This scribe does not know what 
became of the one cannon that was so much in evidence and 
boomed out the dreaded summons of the settlers to fly to the 
forts for protection. 

Hardly one of the old log houses is left, and the old flint 
.lock has become scarce. We have many Indian relics, 
spears, tomahawks, scalping knives and arrow heads, as 
well as pottery. It may occur to the reader to ask, how 
could the Indians manage to handle a spear, a rifle and a 
tomahawk at the same time ; they evidently used all these 
weapons at the battle of Wyoming. The man without a gun 
may have carried the spear. 

The Frenchman would fraternize with the Indians and 
live among them. The Englishman was more particular 
about his company. It is evident that many of the Indians 
became well acquainted with the whites, and there was more 
or less familiarity of a social character. We recognize the 
fact that after the battle Indians were a constant menace to 
every family, and many sufifered at their hands. A bounty 
was put on the scalp of an Indian, and Indian scalps became 
of commercial value. It is not pleasant to think of our 
fathers raising hair for a living. 

The following was furnished by Miary Culver Evans : 

"The true story of James Bird. Before the battle of 
Lake Erie, James Bird called on a drafted man, and found 



6o '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

his wife and children crying around him. Bird told him 
that he would take his place. He joined the Wyoming vol- 
unteers under Captain Thomas. When wounded and or- 
dered by Perry to 'leave the deck,' Bird refused and kept on 
fighting until victory had been won. For his bravery Bird 
was honored among the soldiers, which excited the jealousy 
of a young lieutenant. The war was ended, Perry had gone. 
Bird was tired of inaction, and he and„ a young man named 
Rankin left to join Jackson in New Orleans, they were pur- 
sued, brought back, court martialed and sentenced to be shot, 
the lieutenant doing all he could to hasten on the execution. 
Parties had gone on horseback to the governor for a re- 
prieve, obtained it, and were riding back, and were within 
hearing distance, when Bird and Rankin were shot. Hence 
the song of the late Hon. Charles Miner, 'Spare him; hark! 
O God! they've shot him,' etc. After their execution the 
lieutenant was afraid to stay in his room at night for fear of 
Bird's ghost, and ordered a guard to stay with him. The 
second night he committed suicide. I have the story from 
the late James A. Gordon, who visited Lake Erie shortly 
after the execution, and saw the three graves, those of Bird, 
Rankin and the lieutenant." In this connection the follow- 
ing verses may be of interest. It is entitled: 

THE WYOMING VOLUNTEERS. 

BY ALE^XANDER LORD, DRUMMER (1815). 

'Twas when the flames of cruel war 
Consumed our brethren in the West, 

Wyoming felt the cruel scar 

Which long had stung her tender breast. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 6i 

She cried, "are all our heroes slain ? 

Are there none left my heart to cheer ?" 
Yes, there's a brave, heroic band 

Will be Wyoming Volunteers. 

Wyoming shed a gracious smile, 

To find she had true partiot blood, 
Who dare brave danger, war and toil. 

Their only aim their country's good. 
She gladly sees them gathering 'round 

Their manly *chief, whom they revere, 
Saying, "We will surely grant relief 

Or die, Wyoming Volunteers." 

Then quick they form their march in line, 

And bend their course o'er Ross' Hill, 
In martial splendor, neatly shine. 

And. rattling music loud and shrill. 
Now view them in the western clime, 

Paraded in the front of war ; 
Through marshy fens, o'er boisterous lakes, 

Mingling with true Columbian tars. 

They drive the savage from his hold. 

And cause proud Albion's host to fear; 
Do mighty deeds, with courage bold. 

Like brave Wyoming volunteers. 
When they returned to tread the soil 

Of sweet Wyoming, happy rest ! 
She hailed them with a gracious smile, 

And felt herself supremely blest. , ^ 



62 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Yet missed she one unhappy youth, 

Thoug^h brave as war's hard fate severe, 
Unia^ratefully erased his name 

From the roll of life and the Volunteers. 
In desperate strife the foe he faced, 

His dauntless deeds, his name endears ; 
And never shall his name be 'rased 

From the memory of the Volunteers. 

No, never will Bird be forgot, 

By the Drummer of the Volunteers. 
*Capt. Thomas. 

Some places of interest in the valley are : 

MONOCKONOCK ISLAND. 

On the west side of the Susquehanna. It was here 
that the Tory John killed his brother, Henry Pencil, who 
had fled to this island from the savages. John afterwards 
went to Canada, and was killed by wolves. The Indians 
said, "He bad man, killed his brother." 

toby's eddy. 
Named for an Indian, of that name. Toby's Creek 
empties into the Susquehanna on the west side. Toby's cave 
is in the vicinity. It is a beautiful spot, but by the Delaware, 
Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad passing through it, 
its old-time beauty was destroyed. 

ZINZINDORF HILIv. 

Lies in Plymouth, opposite the railroad bridge. Count 
Zinzendorf was said to be the first white man that entered 
the valley. He came as a missionary to the Indians. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 63 

THE TWIN ELMS. 

On the right-hand side of the road leading from Kings- 
ton to Wilkes-Barre, stand these two trees, a landmark of 
long standing. Now the town of Westmor covers a once 
farming country. 

DIAL ROCK. 

Or Campbell's Ledge, just above Pittston, on the east side 
of the river, is said to have once noted the time of day, when 
the sun touched the crest it was noon. The Dial Rock Chap- 
ter, Daughters of the Revolution, take their name from this 
rock. 

THE UMBRELLA TREE. 

On the west side of the Susquehanna river, opposite 
Wyoming on the mountain, stood a tree high up above all 
the others, called the Umbrella Tree, on account of its re- 
semblance to that article. It was also called the council 
tree. It is said it was a spot where the Indians used to 
meet in their councils. Some supposed that treasure was 
hidden there, and some persons dug around the roots of 
the tree until it was killed. Canes were made of it and sold 
in 1878 at Forty Fort. 

QUEEN Esther's rock. 

This rock is situated at the southeast of the village of 
Wyoming. Here Queen Esther, with a death maul, dashed 
out the brains of the prisoners. Most of the rock has been 
carried away by relic hunters. It is now protected. 




64 ^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

CHAPTER VII. 

lESTINY, AS well as the men who had de- 
serted this paradise in the wilderness, willed 
that the descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers 
should people this valley and make it the 
Mecca of the oppressed of all lands. Before 
their harvest had wasted they were back to harvest it. They 
came in spite of Indian, Tory, Pennamite or the foreign 
foe. They were built that way and Providence appeared to 
see to it that the fittest should occupy the land. 

The men from this section with the army at the front, who 
had come within forty miles, and returned when they heard 
of the defeat that had taken place — these men, and all from 
here, must have had their patriotism put to the supreme test. 
They probably found the suspense they endured, as they 
were thinking of their families sufifering hunger and hard- 
ships of every description, more than the danger and the 
privations they were facing. Postage at that time was often 
a serious afifair to those who were destitute, consequently 
many found it difficult to communicate a message to their 
friends. 

There are so many extravagant stories told of the wreck 
and ruin left in the trail of the Indians as they overran the 
valley that we cannot tell just what to believe. One writer 
states that there were one thousand homes burned and all 
the grain destroyed; that one thousand men had gone from 
here to fight with the Continental army. Accepting Charles 
Miner's statement, that the population was less than three 




u>bf IGost ^tstrr nf Hyttintng. 



*^Ae Story of Wyoming Valley^. 65 

thousand before the battle, and the facts we have of the 
figures given as to the number of men who were in the 
different companies, as well as the knowledge that men came 
back early in the fall and gathered grain that they found 
uninjured, we think the statements unreliable. Many titles 
to property were burned. This, it is apparent, did not prove 
as serious as it might at this time. The title that possession 
and the ability to defend themselves gave, appears to have 
served them better than any other claim. They must main- 
tain by force against the other claimant until it was possible 
to secure a title for their land that would be valid. 

This valley north, south and west was fringed with set- 
tlements that suffered little from the invasion of John But- 
ler. The low lands were filled with malaria, which caused 
many to go up or down the river or over the western 
mountain. 

Captain Spaulding evidently came to the valley within a 
few weeks after the expulsion. The men under his com- 
mand were settlers. It was military occupation, at least, they 
occupied the forts or a fort. They did not bury the men that 
were left at Wyoming. The people began to come back 
from every direction and were to suffer to the limit of human 
endurance from the state authorities, the Indians and the 
gaunt wolf of hunger. From this time on for many years 
there is no correct census of the people handed down to us. 

Although the outlook was dark, the clouds were begin- 
ning to lift. They could hang out that flag of freedom and 



66 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

no one would pull it down. The standard of St. George had 
disappeared forever from this valley. No more foreign tax- 
ation would be levied and no hand could hinder them from 
manufacturing what they willed. The long years of the 
Revolution were drawing to a close so that men might devote 
their energies at home and look after their own interest. 
The Indians would be soon forced to start on their long 
journey to the west, and to extinction as well. The Tory 
would drink his cup of gall to the last bitter dregs. He 
found that a traitor was despised the world over. No one 
wanted him. Many went to England to be rewarded for 
their loyalty. Royalty raised its chin and gave them a good 
vievv of its back. 

Before we refer to the two expeditions sent to annihilate 
the Indian, some facts in reference to the rendezvous 
of the Indians will be in order. Early in the eighteenth 
century the Five Nations formed their league, after which 
they included the Indians of North Carolina and became the 
Six Nations. Parts of the Delawares occupied the two 
branches of the Susquehanna under various names. The 
Moravian missionaries labored among them, there were pow- 
erful revivals of religion, and many converts. The mission- 
aries were considered friends of the red men. It has been 
proven that all the characteristics common to humanity can 
be ascribed to them ; that when thev were enlightened and 
Christianized they are humane, sensible and reliable. In 1802 
they removed to Oneida Lake. In 1824 they went to Fox 
River. In 1830 the Oneidas sold much of their land to the 
state. There is an interesting description given us of the 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 67 

final departure of the Delawares for their new home. With 
the sick, infirm and the children, with their relics and scanty 
furniture loaded on wagons, the strong going on foot, they 
were accompanied by the music of violins and their mourn- 
ful chanting. The missionaries began their work in 1740 
in New York. They were so persecuted by the whites that 
they were obliged to remove to Bethlehem. Later they built 
their town called "The Tents of Grace" at Mahomeny 
Creek, on the Lehigh River. Later on the whites became 
so merciless that they removed to what is now Wyalusing, 
and built a town of forty log houses with an Indian name 
meaning the "Tents of Peace." They built a chapel and 
cultivated 280 acres of land. Great numbers were added 
to them and they prospered until the whites introduced rum. 
After seven years the Iroquois were prevailed upon to sell 
all their land east of Ohio. They left their beautiful village 
on the Susquehanna and started on their long journey, 
two hundred and fifty in number. Near Tioga Point Queen 
Esther had her village, composed of some seventy rude 
houses. The history of that section claims that on the tes- 
timony of an aunt of the Durkees, Queen Esther led the 
Indians at Wyoming, presided at the tragedy at the rock and 
slew twelve or more prisoners, to avenge, it is supposed, 
the death of her son. The account states that most of the 
men tried and a few succeeded in escaping. George Gore 
was overtaken and murdered. After the horrors of Wy- 
oming Washington sent two expeditions to the Indian coun- 
try. The First was under Colonel Hartley in September. 
Captain Spaulding was with him. Butler with his Royal 
Greens had just fled from Tioga. Colonel Hartley, after 



68 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

burning Queen Esther's town and palace, as well as the 
other towns in his way, returned to Sunbury. He secured a 
large amount of stock taken from the valley. 

Queen Esther is supposed to have derived her Jewish 
name from the missionaries. This full-blooded Indian 
squaw, who has gained more fame than any woman of her 
race, is often confounded with the wife of a Senaca chief, 
Catharine Montour, the daughter of a governor of Canada. 

The second expedition to the Indian country was occa- 
sioned by the indignation of the American people. Congress 
took action and Washington placed three thousand five bun- 
ded men under the command of General Sullivan. He was 
to remove from Wvoming to Tioga and be joined by James 
Clinton with two thousand men. They were ordered to treat 
the Indians with great severity. This force was nearly one- 
third of Washington's army. Thev beg-an to move to the 
north where Bxitler, Johnson and Brant were prepared to 
meet them. There were two battles, one at Chemung and 
the other was at Baldwin. The enemy was defeated, many 
of them killed, their villages destroyed and their fruit trees 
cut down, as well as their crops being destroyed. The army 
returned to Tioga and in a few days began their march to 
the heart of the Indian country. Some years ago the writer 
visited the home of the Six Nations. It appears as if nature 
had planned this place for an Indian paradise, and created 
the Indian to enjoy it. The expedition was successful, the 
Indians were driven out and everything belonging to them 
destroyed. This expedition was one of the most important 
and successful of the Revolution. It occupied less than two 
months and the loss of men was less than forty. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 69 

It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. What 
was laid upon the backs of the people of the valley when 
they came back was more than a straw, yet it did not break 
their backs. War is inspiring- and respectable. A fight for 
property between relatives and neighbors is the meanest 
thing in the world. The cruelties and atrocities afflicted by 
the savage are tame in comparison. The Pennamites came 
back under Patterson, and marks the beginning of the sec- 
ond Pennamite war. The Friends possessed the thrifty 
metropolis of Philadelphia and the surrounding country. 
The Germans settled from the Delaware to the Susquehanna. 
The Scotch-Irish on the Juniata and in the Cumberland Val- 
ley. There were a few settlers up the West Branch. The 
Yankee settled the North Branch of the Susquehanna. The 
rest of the state was an unbroken wilderness. The popula- 
tion of the state was 300,000. The Yankees numbered about 
6,000, and were scattered from Berwick to Tioga Point. 
This was in 1783. 

In 1776 the town of Westmorland was erected into the 
countv of Westmorland belonging to Connecticut. 

After the Yankees had gained possession of the territory 
in 1775, Congress prevailed upon all parties to drop tlie con- 
troversy. After the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 
and peace was declared, the state petitioned Congress to 
appoint a commission to dispose of the dispute over the land. 
Congress did this and Connecticut asked for delay. This 
was refused, and the commission selected from the different 
states, met at Trenton the 12th day of November, 1778. The 
court was in judicial session forty-one days. 



70 '^he Story of V/yoming Valley. 

The decision was that the State of Connecticut has no 
right to the land in controversy. This decision did not effect 
the individual claims of those who had bought their property 
of the Susquehanna Company. This fact was not made 
known until long afterwards. After the decree of Trenton 
Zebulon B-utler presented a petition, for the people, to Con- 
gress, asking that a commission be appointed to determine 
their rights. This was not granted. 

The new constitution was adopted and the federal court 
succeeded to all the jurisdiction vested in the special court 
of commissioners. It is conceded that Connecticut wanted 
concession of western lands, and to secure them made con- 
cessions to the rival claimants. The people in the valley had 
the state troops straddled on them. They robbed, outraged 
the women, and acted more hellish than the Indians ever 
had. The people were poor and lived in huts. They were 
trying to raise crops and to provide themselves with clothes. 

A petition was presented to the Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania for a righting of the wrongs they were enduring and 
for the appointment of a commission. This was granted. 
The commission of land-owners were appointed with Alex- 
ander Patterson as chairman. They came and virtually de- 
cided that the settlers could have one year to dispose of their 
huts and then get out. The commission divided Wyoming 
in three townships, tlie new ones being Stokes and Shaw- 
anese. Justices of the peace were elected and the Yankees 
were not permitted to have anything to say in the elections. 
The commission reported that the settlers holding land under 
the Connecticut title before the d£cree of Trenton would 



^/?e Story of Wyoming Valley. 7^ 

receive compensation for their land provided they deHvered 
up possession before April the first, 1783, that is, the next 
spring. This meant expulsion. Patterson returned with two 
companies of state troops, assumed full authority, and 
changed the name of Wilkes-Barre to Londonbarry. Col. 
Zebulon Butler protested against the lewdness and licen- 
siousness of the soldiers. He was arrested for treason with 
several prominent citizens of Plymouth, taken to Sunbury, 
put in a loathsome prison, starved and insulted. Patterson's 
tenants were put on their property and their stock driven 
off. The people had their barns burned, their cattle seized, 
and their wives and daughters the victims of the licentious- 
ness of the soldiers. Patterson was bent upon driving the 
settlers out. Mock trials were held and decisions were given 
that became unbearable. They resisted. Patterson made 
this an excuse for the last act of cruelty in the calendar of 
crime. One hundred and fifty families were stripped of all 
they possessed and once more driven from the valley. They 
went by the way of the Lackawanna, sixty miles to the Del- 
aware. This was the flight through the Shades of Death. 

Modern theology is elminating hell. We all hope there 
is one and that Patterson and his ilk are in it, whatever hap- 
pens to us. 

Patterson seized the property and a great flood in March 
obliterated all the boundary lines. 

The news of this outrage flew over the land and the peo- 
ple were indignant, nowhere more than in this state. The 
state troops were ordered to disband. The sheriff of North- 



72 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

umberland, then included in Wyoming, was sent to restore 
order. The fugitives were sent for. Patterson was mad 
clear through and went in defense at Forty Fort, and pre- 
pared for war. Two young men, named Elisha Garrett 
and Chester Pierce had been slain by Patterson while gather- 
ing in grain. Now the settlers proposed to hunt Patterson 
and the Pennamites he had put in possession of their land. 
John Franklin organized all the men he could find. He 
swept down the west side and up the east, and the Penna- 
mites were routed out. Then he attacked the fort and was 
repulsed. Civil war now openly prevailed. Forty of the 
settlers were indicted and taken to Sunbury. Then the au- 
thorities of the state sent officers to dispossess both sides, 
and demanded the arrest of all. Then four hundred militia 
came from Northampton county, and by treachery they se- 
cured sixty-eight of the setlers, bound them and carried them 
to jail at Easton and Sunbury, The next difficulty was to 
get rid of the women and children. 

At this ■ point Colonel Armstrong was confronted with 
the censure of the state authorities. A counsel of censure 
was appointed, which reported that the settlers had been 
greatly wronged. 

The executive counsel paid no attention to the decision 
and Armstrong came here with one hundred men and at- 
tacked the settlers without success. William Jackson was 
wounded. Franklin seized the rifle, covered with the blood 
of the wounded man, and holding it up swore that he would 
never lay down his arms until death arrested his hand or 
Patterson and Armstrong be expelled from the valley, and 
the people be restored to their rightful possessions. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valle}). 73 

General Armstrong began an attack upon the homes of 
the people. This led up to the passage of an Act of As- 
sembly that gave the people in the valley some assurance 
of peaceable possesion of the land. 

Patterson and Armstrong were recalled, and this ended 
the second Pennamite war in 1784. The agony was over. 
The people were in a desperate state of poverty. Winter 
was coming, they had no harvest to gather and no houses 
to shelter them. 

The last Pennsylvania claimant to leave the valley was 
Squire Mead. One morning he found the Yankees mowing 
his meadow. They told him, "It is you or us ; we give you 
fair notice to quit, and that shortly." This was virtually a 
declaration, of war against Pennsylvania. The authorities 
of this state took the hint. A general pardon for offenders 
was offered, the law dividing the townships was annulled 
and all the people were required to swear to keep the peace. 
They did not comply and that part of the law fell dead. 

The people, while nominally under the laws of the state, 
virtually governed themselves. 

On September the 25, 1786, the county of Luzerne was 
erected. It gave them representation in the council and the 
Assembly. 





74 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle}). 

CHAPTER VIII. 

I EN BECAME tired and dis.s^usted witli tryin£]f 
to^ establish titles to the soil by force. It had 
taken them a long time to realize how futile 
it was to ravish the land, shut up good men 
in foul prisons for nothing and burn the homes 
over the heads of helpless women and children. When they 
were ready to let the courts settle their disputes a new 
danger appeared. Connecticut being suspicious of any set- 
tlement made by the state authorities conceived the idea 
of forming a new division, that is, cut ofif from the state 
that portion and form a body politic independent of Penn- 
sylvania. This scheme split the people in two. The wise 
heads were as suspicious of Connecticut as Connecticut was 
of the State of Pennsylvania. The new plan made a great 
stage play for a time. The Green Mountain Boys with 
Ethen Allen, came to the valley. Half-share rights were 
issued in great numbers and strangers flocked here. Ethen 
Allen arrested John Franklin and a very unpleasant chapter 
of our history was endured. 

This trouble proved a blessing, as the governing author- 
ities were obliged to step in, and in disposing of the ambi- 
tious Connecticut schemes, the titles over which blood 
was shed were settled for all time. 

In 1787 the Confirming Act was passed. This act con- 
ceded the land to the Connecticut settlers. The Pennsylva- 
nia claimants were to be justly compensated. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 75 

When the state authorities began to be just and g'enerous 
they did not stop at their first act. In 1790 they repealed the 
act that obHg^ed the occupants of the valley to make any 
compensation to holders of the charter that a king had given 
William Penn to liquidate a gambling debt that the sov- 
ereign owed young William's father. When the controversy 
ended most of their troubles were over. Washington was 
in his grave and the government was steering out into the 
open sea. Napoleon was at the top of his unparalleled career 
and the Goddess of Liberty smiled upon a free people. 
There are many things of interest to consider at this time 
before we stop to inquire the meaning of military activity 
among the citizens of the little sleepy town of Wilkes-Barre 
and in the neighboring villages. The fighting was not all 
done yet, as elsewhere the trade of war was carried o^n. 

By this time the Indian trails over which the advance 
guards had pushed their way had become the highway of 
civilized man. Matthias Hollenback had furnished the peo- 
ple with about everything they could not provide themselves 
with. The hunter began to till the soil and the people began 
to be self-dependent. To us it appears wrong that they 
should convert most of their corn into whiskey for the 
market. Whiskey was more than a beverage, it was as good 
as the coin of the country, for they could transport corn in 
liquid form to the distant market cheeper than the corn 
itself. The only thing they could manufacture for the 
market was whiskey. They must produce something they 
could sell for cash. Distilling whiskey was an occupation 
that was a source of wealth to every family able to build a 



76 *^Ae Story of Wyoming Valley. 

distillery. They called it "liquid sunshine." They made it 
pure and were able to drink it straight. There were no 
temperance societies and the pulpit favored it as much as 
the congregation. Later on the government undertook to 
tax it and a three months' war followed. 

For some reason every movement to provide means for 
educational purposes by taxation failed and most of the 
teacbing was imparted in paid schools. It must be re- 
membered, our fathers believed in education and considered 
the church and school house indispensible. It is common to 
consider our coal as a source of wealth of which the settlers 
were ignorant. This is not true. We find that the Susque- 
hanna Company, in 1763, in granting land reserved the 
coal. During the Revolution coal was mined and sent to 
Carlisle for the forges of the United States army. We have 
indications that coal was used by the people who preceded 
the Indians. It was not believed, however, that the coal 
went deeper than a short distance beneath the surface. By 
1820 digging coal to be carried down the river in arks 
became a source of revenue. In 1807 coal was shipped to 
Havre de Grace and sold for eight and nine dollars per 
ton. Many experiments were made to burn it in grates, and 
the people could hardly be persuaded that stone coal could 
be used as fuel for domestic purposes. 

Col. George Shoemaker sent nine wagon loads from 
Pottsville to Philadelphia. Some he sold and the rest he gave 
away, and was arrested for swindling the people. The 
coal was put in a furnace to test it. They blew into it from 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valh^. 77 

the open door, but it would not burn. They shut the door in 
disgust and went to dinner, and when they returned the 
furnace was red hot. The draught problem was soon solved 
and coal came into general use. It is quite certain coal was 
used for domestic purposes from 1803. 

The population in 1800 in Wilkes-Barre was probably 
not more than three hundred. The social life was one of 
perfect equality. The standard of intelligence was equal to 
that of New England. Agriculture was the chief employ- 
ment. 

In 1 791 our Congress imposed a duty on distilled liquor 
of four pence per gallon. War followed. The excise officers 
of the government were arrested and tarred and feathered. 
After mild measures had failed to enforce the law, Washing- 
ton, in 1794. raisd an army of 15,000 men. Capt. Samuel 
Bowman, with the Luzerne Volunteers, joined the main 
army, which soon struck terror to "Tom the Tinker," as the 
whiskey boys were called, and the insurrection ended. 

In 1799 the French war began. The French were at war 
with the civilized world and considered they were entitled to 
some assistance from this country. It was not given and 
w-ar was declared. Capt. Samuel Bowman, with seventy-five 
men went to the front. This war cloud faded and then we 
soon had trouble with England. That country came back 
for one more kick and was accommodated. In 1813 Capt. 
Samuel Thomas, at the head of the Wyoming Matross, left 
Kingston and embarked at Toby's eddy with thirty-one men. 



yS '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Luzerne furnished other men who volunteered. Recruit- 
ing stations and barracks were located in Wilkes-Barre. 
In 1814, when Baltimore was threatened, Luzerne furnished 
some companies that did not go farther than Danville, as 
their services were not needed. 

In 1846 the Wyoming Artillerists left for the Mexican 
war under Capt. E. L. Dana. There was a great celebra- 
tion when they returned, covered with glory and scars. 

At the beginning of the Civil War, the first war meeting 
was held in Wilkes-Barre in 1861, Hon. H. B. Wright pre- 
sided. Eight regiments were organized for the three 
months' service. The 143rd Regiment M^ent out under Col. 
E. L. Dana. Many men from the valley served in the war. 
Col. R. Bruce Ricketts performed distinguished service at 
Gettysburg, and Gen. E. S. Osborne made a record. Camp 
Luzerne was located back of Luzerne Borough. 

We will bid adieu to the call to arms and consider what 
belongs to our history apart from the outside world. 

Some one, with a nice idea of fitness, has called our city 
a queen and a jewel. We agree, thinking of our wealth and 
culture. It is, poetically speaking, tlie hub of the valley, a 
center where many of our own and other lands find a home, 
and prosper. One John Durkee was its creator and 
dedicator, in 1772 It included two hundred acres of 
land and twenty or thirty houses that we would not use for 
stabling stock, three forts, and a small population reputed 
to be our peers. We can measure them by the law they 



*^/ie Story of Wyoming Valley. 79 

passed that rated idleness the chief crime in their calendar of 
offences. As the town or village increased in numbers the 
fathers enlaro"ed their boimdaries, this was done several 
times. They certainly were advocates of peace for the consta- 
ble appears to have ranked as the most important man among 
them. March 17, 1806, is next in importance to July 3, 
1778, for then they assumed the dignity and the burden of 
being an incorporated borough. The to-be-great and fa- 
mous offspring grew in stature and favor. It waded in mud 
and thrived on malaria and its antidote. The first borough 
election was held and sixty voters elected Jessie Fell burgess 
and Messrs. Hollenback, Butler, Wells, Colt, Palmer, Miner 
and Bowman councilmen. Every absentee of a regular meet- 
ing was required to pay a fine of twenty-five cents. As a 
fact of history it is mentioned that Matthias Hollenback 
paid the first fine. As he w^as a millionaire, the man who 
controlled the trade w^ith Indians and whites from the bor- 
ough to Niagara, the most Courtly as well as the best 
dressed gentleman in our early history, no comments are in 
order. At this time there were some forty-eight houses 
and five hundred inhabitants. The greatest local event prior 
to this time was the sojurn of a number of visitors at Arnet's 
tavern. They were royalty out of a job, but one of them 
afterwards became king of France. These visitors were 
here 1797. 

Before the borough was created a number of men em- 
barked in the seductive enterprise of building ships on the 
river bank. They were poor sailors, so thev were satisfied 
after they had come to grief in trying to float their sloop out 
into the open sea. 



8o '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Kingston, as it is at the present time, was the Eden where 
the finest fruits of aristocracy, wealth and culture flourished 
in perfection. The citizens of Wilkes-Barre could not afford 
a bridge to get over into the promised land, and as they must 
needs go over they established a ferry They felt humiliated 
in going down to Northampton street and being carried over 
like cattle, so they went down in their pockets and built a 
bridge at the end of West Market street in 1807, that cost 
forty thousand dollars. We wonder where they borrowed 
the money. They were eleven years building it. Nature ob- 
jected to being spanned. Tlie next year one of the piers 
refused to shoulder longer the burden put upon it. The 
state was appealed to for assistance. The bridge, after it 
was repaired, tried to butt against a hurricane, but the at- 
tempt was a failure. Consequently in the winter of 1825 
the people had to go over the river on the ice. The state, 
wishing to help the east-siders over into paradise across the 
river, furnished more money. This money was only loaned, 
and our honest and fore'handed forefathers repaid it. The 
debt was twenty-eight thousand dollars. Money was scarce 
and eggs were more current than coin. 

The court house did not cut as much of a figure as the 
court house bell. The people sent to Philadelphia and had one 
brought here at considerable expense, a year before the bor- 
ough was erected. About all public proceedings and pri- 
vate acts were regulated by the ringing of this bell. The 
court house served every conceivable purpose, and next to 
the taverns, was the center religiously, politically, officially, 
criminally and socially. 




®l|r Ballpy frmit (HampbpU's ICpiJgc. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 8i 

The second year after the people had incorporated them- 
selves they made an attempt to form a fire department. 
Eight dollars they voted to purchase suitable fire extin- 
guishers. They failed to make the purchase. This attempt 
to supply the town with a fire engine led to the purchasing 
of a patent fire extinguisher in 1808. Every year until 1818 
it was voted that a fire engine be purchased, and then the 
grand jury helped them out with two hundred dollars for an 
engine, and forty dollars for the erection of an engine 
house.. 

Court convened for a time in Kingston, but Wilkes-Barre 
wanted it transplanted to their center, and as they had that 
wonderful bell, they secured the court of justice, so called. 

Before 1800 Wilkes-Barre had two newspapers. Our 
first historian, Isaac A. Chapman, being the editor of one of 
the early weeklies. 

Our city is located on the beautiful strip of land on the 
east side of the Susquehanna. This matter is being adjusted 
in a natural way. The west side is gradually becoming the 
center of wealth, population, and industrial activity. 

Wilkes-Barre became a city in 1871. We will go about 
the old town when nearly all the families were to the manor 
born. 

Rev. Rufus Lane is preaching in the old church on the 
Square. Isaac Osterhout is accumulating the money that 
built the library and Historical Society building. Anthony 
Brower and Barnet Ulph are familiar figures on the street. 



82 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Daniel Conines is postmaster, Jonathan Buckley is the 
sheriff, George P. Steel is the proprietor of one of the 
famous hotels. Lord and John Butler have a steam grist 
mill, Jude Kidder and Lawyer Nicholson have law offices on 
the Square. Dr. Boyd has his office near by. Up at the 
corner lives Judge Scott and near bv is the tavern of Arch- 
ippus Parrish, a sort of Westmoreland club-house. A 
brother of Frances Slocum lived on the south side of the 
Square. Near by Oliver Helm had a cabinet shop. Samuel 
Howe had a tin shop near the corner. Conrad Teeter, the 
old stage driver, lived in Rag Row, where he could hear 
the ring of the hammer of Mr. Lanning on his anvil. Gen- 
eral Isaac Bowman lived on that side of the Square. Up 
Main street was Buzzard Row, where Alderman Gilbert 
Burrows had his office. Above this Benjamin Drake had 
his blacksmith shop. Oliver Hillard and Dr. Jones lived up 
this way. Up a short distance we find the original Myers, 
John. The fine residence of Ziba Bennett was on Main 
street, and just beyond the Square, Lawyer Winchester had 
his office. Farther up George Dennison, Dr. Jackson, Sharp 
D. Lewis, Gilbert Barnes and Dr. Thomas Miner lived, and 
Air. Gilchrist had "his shop. On West Market street we find 
Ebenezer Bowman, Gilbert Laird, Abram Thomas, Thomas 
Hutchings, Mrs. Nancy Drake. Jacob Sinton, Sidney Tracy 
and Col. H. B. Wright. On the corner of Franklin and 
Market there were some beautiful Lombardy populars. The 
old jail was on East Market street. Some of the other resi- 
dents were Geo. M. Hollenback, Orlando Porter, Judge 
Shoemaker, Andrew T. McClintock, Judge John N. 
Conyngham, William C. Reynolds. These men lived on 



Vhe Story of Wyoming Valley^. 83 

River street. The most famous man in town was a DutcTi- 
man or German, that the people puffed up with praise. He 
was town janitor, and was known as Old Michael. 

Up above Wilkes-Barre we find the Miner, Wilcox, 
Abbott, Courtright, Blanchard, Parsons, Johnson and the 
Stark families. The ancestreal estate of the Stark family 
was at the Plains and, like so many of the old families they 
came from Connecticut. The first to come here dates back to 
1734. Mrs. Elizabeth Stark is his great granddaughter. 
Like the record of most of the old families the pioneer mem- 
bers served under Washington and suffered and fought in 
the early days. She married Charles, the son of Jacob 
Shoemaker. David Scott Stark represents the family at 
the present time. 

It is quite impossible to turn away from our past without 
mentioning the old familiar names. 

Down in old Shawnee there was the bluest blood, real 
men, noble and true. The old families were the Nesbitt, 
Smith, Davenport, Wadhams, Gaylord, Van Loon, Turner, 
Atherton, Reynolds, Fuller, Gabriel, Ransom, Wright Prin- 
gle, Harvey, Bangs, Rogers, Shoemaker, Rimus, Shonk, 
Eno and Garrahan. 

The old families of the west side were Gore, Pettebone, 
Bonham, Mathers, Laphey, Bowman, Hancock, Blakesley, 
Cramer, Snyder, Carpenter, Holegate Raub, Bennet, Ather- 
ton, Shoemaker, Smith, Tuttle, Denison, Buskirk, Tripp, 
Hunt, Swetland, Bay, Perkins, Breese, Mjiller, Schofield, 



84 '^he Story of Wyoming Valle}). 

Larnard, Hice, Goodwin, Jenkins, Sharps, LaFrance, Cow- 
der, London, VanScoy, Jones, Jacobs, Polen Carpenter, 
Capin, Slocum, Lewis, Pettebone, Snowden, Underwood, 
Myers, Church, Reese, Dorrance, Barkers, Thomas, Strohs 
and Bryant. These are the families between Goose Island 
and Abram's Plain, not including Kingston. The families of 
that town were the Gallup, Curtis, Barnes, Hoyt, Reynolds, 
Myers, Buckingham, Parker, Loveland, Bidlack, Gates Rob- 
erts, Covert, Payne, Skeers, MacFarland, Rice, Jaquish, Kel- 
ler, Devans, Snyder, Taylor, Butler, Pringle, Owens, Sealey 
and Belding. This takes in everything to Blindtown and 
Poke Hollow. 



The following families lived in and below Wilkes-Barre, 
most of them names familiar in the early times. The faces 
of many members of these families are as familiar to us as 
the face of the court house clock. The names are Quick, 
Nagle, Inman, Fisher, Downing, Ruggles, Blodgett, Dilley, 
Horton, Garringer, Mills, Lee, M'affett, Ross, Cady, Stew- 
art, Dana, Dyer, Covell, Dennis, Perry, Ross, Collins, Wurts, 
Hakes, Greene, Lynch, Whitney, Howe, Mallery, Dupuy, 
Morse, Gildersleeve, Gaboon, Davis, Vernett, Laird, Babb, 
Sturdevant, Horton, Hartzell, Jamison, Learn, Lazarus, 
Sivley, Spencer, Espy, Thomas, Minnich, Kocher, Hurlburt, 
Franklin, Pell, Chapman, Pierce, Rummage, Askam, De- 
trick, Deerhammer, Shoemaker, Fisher, Bennett, Hoover, 
Marcy, Metcalf, Hyde, Blackman, Shafer, Sorber, Rine- 
himer, Keithline, Lines, McCarragher, Dow, Young, Kidder, 
Fredrick, Bergold, Ritter, Brown, Landmesser Pease, 
Keizer, Cook, Preston, Carey, Knock, Sterling, Bunny. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 85 

I have built a bridge to span a hundred years. My for- 
mer treaties on Wyoming Valley spanned the years of the 
nineteenth century. During the first years of the twentieth 
century we have had to fight the savage, the Tories and the 
enemies of civil liberty over again. Our breakers and 
culm banks may seem blotches on the landscape. I rather 
regard them as brooches, pinning our beautiful valley to the 
blue fringe of the hills, with a diamond luster. We go to 
the top of Prospect Rock, Campbell's Ledge, Penobscot, 
Tillbury Knob or Fairview, and find there is enough natural 
beauty remaining to content us. The song of the prosperous 
present is just as sweet to our ears as the song of the har- 
vesters and the sad music of the winds in the pines to the 
former owner of this delightful region. Those who follow 
in our tracks will not find diamonds under their feet as we 
find them to-day. 

This production is an artist's picture of the past. A pic- 
ture of the present time would be, if well painted, a mag- 
nificent frescoe, representing cosmopolitan life, enjoying a 
degree of prosperity and opportunity for development such 
as the masses have never known before. Everything that 
the world has to offer is here in abundance within the reach 
of all classes. The poor and ignorant become informed and 
prosperous, while ability is in demand and compensated. 
Our life is not spectacular, dramatic or picturesque ; it is 
industrial, domestic and material. Men devote their ener- 
gies to establish and maintain a home and educate their chil- 
dren, consequently we have a condition that is making the 
best things in life common property. 



86 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

The men of the greatest usefulness avoid pubHcity. The 
officials of our churches, of the many societies organized for 
specific ends, such as the Historical Society, the United 
Charities, the Board of Trade and many other organizations 
are composed of those who serve the public without reward 
or comment. 



There are seventy-five breakers, more or less, that send 
a million tons of coal, more or less, each, to the market every 
year. Four or five great railroads run through our valley, 
which, with numerous large manufacturing plants, form 
the foundation or our prosperity. 

We have a model modern mayor, and Board of Trade 
president. Fred. E. Kirkendall, our mayor, like W. L. Rae- 
der, the president of our Board of Trade, is identified with 
nearly every interest and movement, charitable, social and in- 
dustrial. Our men of means erect large business blocks, and 
public institutions, as they are needed and invest capital in 
industries that are worthy of support. 

Our leading merchants are Jonas Long's Sons, The Bos- 
ton Store, Beneschs, Weitzenkorn, Phelps, Lewis & Bennett, 
Isaac Long, Josepli Coons, Kaschenbach, Carpenter, Voorhis 
& Murray, Lazarus, the Globe, Simon Long, Bee Hive, 
Hance, Walters, Miller and others. J. L. Raeder, Robert 
Baur & Son and the Yordy Co. have large printing estab- 
lishments. There are two morning and two evening daily 
papers of a high order. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 87 

Among the many we mio^ht mention that are before the 
pubhc are Lyman Howe, of movino^ picture fame ; Sadie 
Kaiser, the singer; Daniel L. Hart, dramatist and wit; Ar- 
nold Lohman, violinist; Father Murgus, inventor, Wesley 
E. Woodruff, writer, lecturer and critic, and C. Bow Dough- 
erty, colonel of the 9th Regiment. 

Prominent citizens who have died within the last score 
of years are Nathaniel Rutter, Calvin Parsons, W. W. 
Loomis, Garrick M. Harding, Charles Miner, R. J. Flick, 
J. C. Powell, F. B. Hodge, Allan Dickson, C. M. Conyng- 
ham, R. C. Shoemaker, Charles Dorrance, Sheldon Rey- 
nolds, B. G. Carpenter, C. F. Ingham, W. P. Miner, A. T. 
McClintock, E. L. Dana, L. D. Shoemaker, E. P. Darling, 
Vaughn Darling, P. M. Carhart, H. B. Hillman, R. D. 
Lacoe, Richard Sharpe, Lawrence Myers, W. S. Parson, 
C. Brahl, George Parrish, G. A. Wells, M. B. Williams, H. 
H. Wells, Isaac Tripp, John B. Smith, Draper Smith, 
George Shonk, M. B. Houpt, G. M. Reynolds, I. R. Wright, 
E. R. Mayor, W. R. Maphet, J. C. Phelps, C. S. Morgan, 
Isaac Long, E. S. Osborne, T. P. Ryder, Thompson Derr. 
Frederick B. Mjyers, Joseph K. Bogert, Jonathan K. Peck, 
John T. Doyle, E. A. Niven, Alfred Dart. 

Kingston. — The Wyoming Seminary is located here. It 
is an old town, the center of the west side, and promises to 
become a manufacturing center. It is not cosmopolitan in 
its population as are most of the towns in the valley. It is 
a school and church town. Rev. F. Von Krug, the pastor of 
the Presbyterian church, has served that congregation for 
many years acceptable. The present pastor of the M. E. 



88 ^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Church is Rev. J. W. Nicholson, who is hig-hly esteemed. 
The other churches are stron^^ and are doin^ good service. 
Rev. T. C. Edwards, D. D., is pastor of the First Welsh 
Congregational Church of Edwardsville. He is one of the 
best known men of his nationality in this country. The 
presiding elder of the Wyoming District lives here, Rev. 
L,. C. A^lurdock, He is one of the ablest ministers in the 
Conference. W. G. Payne and T. L. Newell are successful 
coal operators ; R. P. Brodhead, Charles Laycock, R. B. 
Howland, D. H. Lake, J. R. Davis, W. N. Multer, N. D. 
Safiford, W. P. Thomas, E. Strouse and many others are 
active churchmen, and C. O. Tburston, the naturalist, The- 
ron G. Osborne, the poet, and A. D. W. Smith, the geologist, 
are west side men. The president of the town council, J. W. 
Marcy, has carried on his wagon business for many years. 
The burgess of Kingston is C. W. Chapin. W. H. Van 
Horn is a justice of the peace. Both were formerly business 
men. C. W. Boughton, tax collector, made wagons for our 
fathers, and Frank E. Wright has continued the business. 
Edwards & Co. conduct the largest store in town. A. J. 
Roat is the oldest and most successful merchant. The old 
businesses are N. G. Pringle, Dymond & Lewis, James Case, 
Geo. Carr, Myron Evans, W. F. Church, C. Bach, Chester 
Wilcox, Albert Miller, C. W. Turpin and J. A. Burton. 

Isaac Jones, the grocer, M. Pooley, Bersch and Frantz 
have been here nearly as long. Later comers are Cecil Ste- 
vens, Millard & Scureman, S. M. Boyd, Doron and Son, and 
Richard Cronin. Bolton G. Coon and Richard Rosser are 
successful contractors. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 89 

Mill Hollow is where the old mills of the valley were 
located. As Luzerne, it still follows the old business with 
many additions, being a more general trading center than 
the other towns of the west side excepting Plymouth. Dor- 
ranceton is the newest and most progressive town of the 
west side, containing the finest residences and the greatest 
extent of paved streets. The newly paved roadway between 
Kingston and Wilkes-Barre was opened to the public on 
Christmas Day, 1905. Forty Fort is no longer a place of 
residence only. Large factories are being erected there. 
Wyoming, formerly Troy, is the location of the monument, a 
beautiful granite shaft, erected in the middle of the last 
century to the memory of those who fell in the battle of 
Wyoming, by their descendants. 

East and West Pittston, the latter a beautifully sit- 
uated residence town, both lying at the head of the 
valley, form a business and mining center second only 
to Wilkes-Barre. Plymouth, formerly Shawnee, the home 
of many of the old families, has at the present time a large 
foreign population rapidly becoming Americanized. Nanti- 
coke is a city, except in name. Edwardsville is a large and 
r)rosperous mining town. Ashley, Miner's Mills, Parsons 
and Plains are thriving places that should become a part 
of Greater Wilkes-Barre. 

All our cities and towns are growing rapidly in extent 
and population, and if the wealth accummulating from our 
present enterprises is devoted to enlarged and diversified 
industries, the time is not far distant when the entire valley 
from Nanticoke to Pittston will be one vast and continuous 
city. 



90 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

CONCLUSION. 

The once familiar things have passed away. The sound 
of the ax, the crack of the rifle, the hearty laugh, the stage 
driver's horn and the bob white's whistle. Familiar sights 
have not even a place in our memory — the old grand- 
mother in the corner, with her pipe, the wood pile, 
the bars for a front gate, bare feet, the fiddle and the fire 
place, tallow candles, bare floors and white-washed walls. 
Every young man does not go to see his sweetheart on Sat- 
urday night, and sparking as our fathers practiced is only 
a legend. There are some things we get on without. 
Such as shouting in meeting, taking snuff, dancing all night 
and going home with the girls in the morning. Killing pigs 
is not the event of the year nor gossiping the chief pastime 
of the population. 

We are not deceived. There is not essentially any differ- 
ence between us and our forefathers. Of course the dried 
apples do not hang in strings from our rafters, we do not 
hold the plow or give quilting parties. We do the same 
things, it may be, in a less crude way. We worship God, 
eat the same food, breathe the same air, and look upon the 
same sights. We are able to provide for ourselves what 
they had to go without, or have but in part. We, like them, 
live the old sad, sweet lesson of life, and are thankful that 
Providence ordained that it should be here in the valley that 
we love. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 91 

HALL OF FAME. 

John Jenkins. 

Surveyor and prominent man in the early days. 

Lazarus Stewart. 

A military hero before the battle of Wyoming. 

Zebulon Butler. 

Commander of the settlers on the third of July, 1778. 

George Dorrance. 

A soldier of rank and a man of influence in his day. 

Nathan Denison. 

A military leader who surrendered the fort and the men 
to John Butler after the battle of Wyoming. 

John Franklin. 

One of the leaders in the conflict with the Pen.namites. 
George P. Ransom. 

A hero of the early days with a notable record. 

Benjamin Bidlack. 

A prominent soldier and citizen. 

John Durkee. 

One of the forty settlers and a leader. 
Robert Durkee. 

Founder and proprietor of Wilkes-Barre. 

Matthias HollEnback. 

The greatest leader in the industrial life of the valley in 
our history. 

Charles Miiner. 

The greatest historian of our frontier period. 



92 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

Obediah Gork. 

A conspicuous member of a family of early martyrs. 

EusHA Harding. 

One of the first of that notable family to appear in our 
history. 

Richard Inman. 

A noted Indian fighter. 

Thomas Bennett. 

One of the members of one of the most prominent fami- 
lies in the early days. 

Samuel Carey. 

A represntative member of a large and influential family. 

William Ross. 

Soldier and influential man. Other members of this fam- 
ily appear with an honorable record. 

Benjamin Harvey. 

Representative member of a notable family. 

Jacob Johnson. 

The writer of the articles of capitulation after the battle 
of Wyoming. 

Simon Spaulding. 

A military hero of our history. 

James Wells. 

One of the early martyrs. 

Elisha Shoemaker. 

One of the first of that noted family to appear on the 
pages of our history. 



TT/ie Story of Wyoming Valley. 93 

Libbe;n Hammond. 

A victim of Indian warfare. 

Elisha Blackman. 

The father of Major Eleazer Blackman. This family 
acted a notable part in the early days. 

Isaac Tripp. 

He was painted and killed by the Indians. 

John Jameson. 

Victim of the last Indian massacre. 

James Bird. 

Shot at Lake Erie for desertion. A brave soldier and 
martyr. 

Jacob Cist. 

He was a scientific man, an editor, engineer and one of 
the most scholarly men in our annals. 

John Abbott. 

A prominent citizen and a victim of the Indians. 

Jesse Fell. 

The first man in this county to burn anthracite coal in 
a grate. 

William Hoker Smith. 

A noted physician and citizen. ^ 

Francis Slocum. 

The lost sister of Wyoming. 

Andrew Beaumont. 

He filled with distinction positions of great responsibility 
in the county, state, and nation. 



94 '^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

John N. Conyngham. 

Was judge of the court of Luzerne county. No man in 
our history inspired more respect and admiration. 

Amzi Fuller. 

Prominent man. 

George Woodward. 

Father of Hon. Stanley Woodward. He was one of the 
most notable men of the state. 

Henry M. Hoyt. 

Governor of Pennsylvania. He wrote a valuable work 
on political economy. 

Edmond L. Dana. 

Hero of two wars, jurist and scholar. 

Thomas P. Hunt. 

Temperance lecturer, known all over the nation. 

Wesley Johnson. 

Secured the erection of the Wyoming monument. 

Hendrick B. Wright. 

Historian, Congressman and orator. 

Charles Parrish. 

The greatest captain of industry since Matthias Hol- 
lenback. 

Reuben Nelson. 

The most noted educator of the valley. The first presi- 
dent of Wyoming Seminary. 

George Peck. 

Historian and preacher. 



'^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 95 

Andrew T. McClintock. 
Influential citizen. 

H. Baker Hileman. -> 

Erected the Harry Hillman Academy. 

Isaac Osterhout. 

Founder of the Osterhout Library and the Historical 
Society building. 

F. B. Hodge. 

The honored and loved pastor of the First Presbyterian 
Church for thirty-five years. 

Daniel Edwards. 

The most prominent and successful man in mining coal 
in the valley. 

Edward R. Mayer. 

Prominent Physician. Donated the Home for the 
Friendless and a large contributor to its support. 

John Welles Hollenback. 

Influencial and prominent citizen. 

Abram Nesbitt. 

Prominent citizen. Donated Nesbitt Hall to Wyoming 
Seminary. 

R. Bruce Ricketts. 

Hero of the battle of Gettysburg. 

Henry W. Palmer. 

Congressman and lawyer. 

Charles D. Foster. 

Legislator and lawyer. 



96 ^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 

L. L. Sprague. 

President of Wyoming Seminary since 1882. 
Henry L. Jones. 

Rector of St. Stephen's Church since 1874. 
John B. Reynolds. 

Builder of the first electric road and the North street 
bridge. 
George B. Kulp. 

Author of the Families of Wyoming Valley. 

Miss Edith Brovver. 

Organizer of the Town Improvement Society and writer. 

Mrs. Rosamand L. Rhone. 
Author and artist. 

Miss Susan E. Dickinson. 
Talented writer. 

Fredrick C. Johnson. 

Historical writer and editor of the "Historical Records." 

Horace E. Hayden. 

Historian and secretary of the Historical Society. 

Oscar J. Harvey. 
Historical writer. 

H. B. Peumb. 

Historian of Hanover Township. 

D. L. Rhone. 

Writer on law and political economy. 

Harry A. Fuller. 

Prominent speaker and lawyer. 



^he Story of Wyoming Valley. 97 

George S. Bennett. 

Prominent in finances and church work. 

Frederic Corss. 

Physician and scientist. 

Mrs. Caroline Pettebone. 

Donated a gymnasium to Wyoming Seminary. She 
also left memories that remain like the fragrance of 
a sweet flower after the blossom has faded. 

Miss Martha Bennett. 

Erected Bennett Chapel. That was only a small part of 
what she gave. She had greater gifts than money to 
bestow. 

Mrs. H. W. Palmer. 

Organizer of the B. I. A. No woman in our history 
has conferred so much direct benefit.. Few women 
in the nation have performed so great service for hu- 
manity. 

Miss Hannah P. James. 

First librarian of the Osterhout Library. No woman has 
exerted a wider personal influence for the intellectual 
life of this valley or was held in higher esteem. 

Mrs. Katharine Searles McCartney (Mrs. W. H.). 
Formed the first Chapter of the Daughters of the Amer- 
ican Revolution in the State of Pennsylvania, and the 
Wyoming Chapter, through whose inspiration all of 
the forts in this vicinity have been marked. 



